If Sweet Things Spoil
by La Vik
Summary: Willy Wonka was sure he would never see Alyssa Cabot and her pearly, impish grin ever again, but when professional and personal worlds become intertwined, can either of them prove to be the same person as they were when they were children? WilderWonka fic
1. Chapter 1

Wilbur Wonka was incessantly pacing and straightening his parlor. Today, he thought, was going to be a very busy day. He had agreed to be the dentist for the students at the large international boarding school in town, Oscar Jarvis Academy, and a great number of them would be coming in for their first appointments today.

Normally, he wouldn't have agreed to such a proposition – he didn't need those nasty little brats and their cavity-infested mouths coming in and influencing his young son – but the dean of Oscar Jarvis Academy had offered him a very handsome sum, and Dr. Wonka would have been a fool to refuse.

Nevertheless, he had ordered his son to stay upstairs. He knew that the sight of those rotten little sugar-mongers' mouths would not be a pleasant one.

William Wonka, at the tender age of ten years old, however, only grew more curious. What, he thought, could possibly be so horrible about it? He crept quietly down the stairs and stuffed himself into a cupboard as the first few children came into the office, and stared out through a crack in the door.

These children were unlike any of the other children little William had seen around town. They were all dressed in impeccably crisp uniforms. Also, looking at their faces, William was fascinated by the differences he beheld – it seemed as though they had come from all over the world.

William heard his father call out a name, and then a boy in the room cursed under his breath, sighing and striding gloomily over the dentist chair.

The process repeated itself over and over again. Dr. Wonka would call out a name, and William would hear him click his tongue in all-too-familiar disapproval. For most of the children, Dr. Wonka had needed to drill out quite a few cavities, and little William pitied the poor children. One boy, Ernest Walcott, had tried to run away when the drill was switched on, and was only persuaded back to the dentist chair when one of the teachers who had accompanied the students bribed him with the offer of more candy later.

William was starting to grow bored and was considering just going back up to his room when his father cleared his throat and called out another name.

"Alyssa Cabot?"

"Oh, that's me!" said one girl, who had been in a conversation with her friends at the time. She excused herself, and got up, not looking even half as frightened as the other children.

William gawked. His tiny ten-year-old heart kathumped in his chest, and it was quite obvious that he fancied this Alyssa Cabot. She was a rather small girl whose long dark hair, which she kept in a long, neat plait, offset her very light skin.

She hopped up into the dentist chair – with, admittedly, a bit of difficulty, considering her small size — and opened wide. Only…

William did not hear his father click his tongue in disapproval. Instead, Wilbur Wonka gave an astonished "Hmm," and nodded his head.

"You're teeth are quite near immaculate, my dear girl," he said, allowing her to close her mouth. She grinned.

"Thank you, Dr. Wonka," she said, seeming genuinely complimented. "My parents are dentists too – back in America." She hopped off of the chair and capered back into the parlor. The first thing she did was scurry up to the teacher. "May I take off my sweater?" she said.

"I'm sure that would be fine," the woman nodded. "Just until we have to leave, though. Ask Dr. Wonka if you may put it in his closet."

Alyssa scurried back to Dr. Wonka, asked permission, then walked over to the closet. She threw open the door and squealed loudly as William, who had been leaning against it, came tumbling out.

"Um, Dr. Wonka…" she said hesitantly, "There's a boy in your closet!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Um, Dr. Wonka…" Alyssa said hesitantly, "There's a boy in your closet!"

Everyone in the room turned to look as little William stood up and dusted himself off, the flush on his face deeply contrasting his pale skin and the dark metal of his headgear. He avoided looking directly at Alyssa, but noticed the he was right in saying she was a small girl. Judging by her face she was about his age, but she was a good few inches shorter than he.

"Weren't you supposed to be staying in your room?" Dr. Wonka said crossly, but not angrily.

"Oh! He's your...little boy?" Alyssa burst out as though she had just learned something incredibly surprising. "Why do you keep him in a closet?"

"He doesn't keep me in a closet," William said as his father went back to working on one of the other children. "I was…hiding."

"Oh." The little girl said. She pursed her lips and squinted her eyes, looking like she quite deep in thought. "That's sort of weird." She shrugged dismissively and the pensive looked was yet again replaced by that impressive smile. Darn those teeth, William couldn't help but think. "I'm Alyssa!" she said brightly.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Alyssa repeated. "Aren't you going to say anything else?"

William stared at her in confusion for a minute. She obviously didn't notice how shy he was. "Willy." He said. "My name's Willy."

"Pleasure," she said with a smile.

Just then, the teacher called out for Alyssa, and as quickly as that, all of the children in their neat little uniforms walked out of the dentist's office in a straight line.

After that day, Willy never happened to see the children in the dentist office again. Most likely, they came while he was at school, and he never ran into Alyssa Cabot again, which was well enough, because he didn't have an awful lot to say when he was around her anyway. He did, however, occasionally think of her, especially when his father was chiding him for wanting him. Perhaps, he thought, if I had perfect teeth like Alyssa Cabot's he'd let me try some...

* * *

Two entire years passed—that's over a million minutes, for anyone who cared to count. Over a million minutes, and Willy still had never gotten a taste of the very single thing that he so desired. One day after Halloween, he'd happened across a piece that his father did not manage to throw into the fire. Quickly, he pocketed the little thing, brought it outside, and popped it into his mouth before he could get caught. 

Young Willy Wonka was enraptured. So this is what he had been missing! This! Only the greatest and most wonderful thing in the world! Chocolate! From that moment on, Willy Wonka vowed that he would one day know everything about every chocolate there ever was.

Of course, this meant some drastic measures were in order. It meant brushing his teeth four or five times a day at least, just to cover up any trace of all the chocolate he'd eaten. But surely his father wouldn't notice that. If anything, he'd be overjoyed over his son's new passion for dental hygiene. Yes, Willy thought, this is going to be easy as pie.

One day, however, all of Willy's precautions just weren't good enough. He had been in such a hurry to go brush his teeth upon coming home from school that he haphazardly dropped his notebook, which his father made no hesitation in picking up. He began flipping through the pages and reading his son's messy little scrawl, detailing every taste and scent of every type of candy sold at the local candy shoppe. He immediately roared for his son to come downstairs.

"NO SON OF MINE—" Dr. Wonka seethed, "IS GOING TO BE A CHOCOLATIER!" He spat out the last word in pure, unadulterated distaste.

Willy didn't hesitate in throwing back a reply. "Then I'll run away!" he said quickly. He grew quite annoyed when his father scoffed in disbelief. "To Bavaria! Switzerland! The chocolate capitals of the world!"

His father, up until that point, had thought it was all some infantile joke of Willy's, some half-thought-out temper tantrum. But now, he saw that his son was, in fact, quite serious. "Go ahead," Dr. Wonka huffed, "But I won't be here when you come back."

Willy picked up his backpack and looked at his father as though daring him to make good on his threat. Then, he turned around and left.

That evening, Willy returned home to find that, in fact, there was no home to return to. His father had left, after all, and taken everything with him.

Immediately, the people in town took action. Willy Wonka had no other family nearby to go to, so the best thing that could be done was to send him someplace that could take care of him until he was old enough to go out on his own – that, and get those horrible braces off of the boy. They sent him to the only other dentist-orthodontist in the city, and had the large metal contraption on his head removed.

"There you go," said the woman from child services said patronizingly, "You handsome little boy. You'll fit in splendid." She patted him on the head and pinched the boy's cheek, which was rather uncomfortable, considering he was already twelve years old.

The next thing she did was bring him to a large red brick building on the other side of town. The placard above the door read, in ornate gold letter, _Oscar Jarvis Academy_.

Oscar Jarvis, Oscar Jarvis, young Willy thought to himself. Where have I heard of this school before?

He walked into the door and was greeted but the rather plump and wiry-haired dean of students. "Young Mr. Wonka!" The woman said jovially. "Welcome! I'll be having one of my students show you around, and you can come back to me to find out where your rooms are." Willy just nodded. "All right then, You can start with your tour. Miss Cabot!"

Cabot? Willy knew the name Cabot, and suddenly realized why Oscar Jarvis seemed so familiar to him. Alyssa Cabot! Alyssa Cabot was here!

Like clockwork, a girl with light skin and dark hair came prancing down the stairs and into the dean's office. "Yes ma'am." She said brightly. She was _here_—the girl with the perfect teeth was here! And she would see him, and— oh, bother…

"Show Willy around the school, would you?" the dean said. Alyssa turned her head, whipping her long braid over her shoulders so it sat on the opposite side.

"I remember you." She said with a slight grin. "You're the boy in the coat closet. Shall we, then?" She jokingly offered her arm to Willy, who didn't take it, but instead followed behind her.

"You still remember me?" Willy asked as they left the office and started down the corridor. "I didn't think you would."

"Course I did," she laughed smugly, slowing down her usually buoyant stride so they could walk at the same pace. "I remember everyone!" Just then they passed a closed door from behind which Willy could hear an unbelievable ruckus.

"What was that?" he exclaimed.

"The whipping room." Alyssa replied with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Whipping room?" Willy said, jumping back slightly, "They whip people in this school?"

"Oh, no!" she replied, "They don't whip people! They whip cows!"

"Cows?" Willy repeated skeptically.

"For the whipped cream, obviously!" she laughed. "Whipped cream is whipped cream unless it's been whipped with whips!"

Willy laughed, but couldn't restrain himself from saying, "You're incredibly strange."

"Well," Alyssa replied, rolling her eyes, "You're really weird."

Yes, Willy thought, this girl was definitely an interesting character. Perhaps, he mused, I ought to be more like her…

Willy Wonka and Alyssa Cabot, from that moment on, decided that as they had technically known each other for two years, they might as well be friends. Alyssa was rather passive about the matter, but Willy felt quite lucky.

The other inhabitants of the school, however, would not be so accepting. One day in class, the teacher had asked all of the children what they wanted to be when they grew older. Alyssa shrugged passively. The other children rattled off that they wanted to be doctors and firefighters, or just "filthy stinking rich," like their parents. No one knew how to react when young William Wonka replied that he wanted to be a chocolatier.

"Now, Willy," the teacher said, "Let's be rational. Wouldn't you like to be a doctor? Or a policeman?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Willy asked earnestly. "I've never heard anything so boring in my whole life."

"Well, that's just stupid," one boy replied. The teacher gave a huff, knowing that this had obviously sparked somewhat of a controversy among the children. "Why would anyone grow up to be a _chocolatier_?"

"Because it's what I want to do," Willy said matter-of-factly.

"Won't your parents be upset with you?" one girl in the class asked. "I know _our _parents would. They didn't send us to school here just to grow up and sell candy."

"Oh, that's what you think?" Alyssa said from her spot in the room. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, miss bunnies-and-sunshine, but this school is just where parents send their kids when they don't want them anymore. They'd have thrown us all into the street, but they're rich, so that would make them look bad."

"Miss Cabot!" the teacher snapped, pale in the face and looking very scandalized. "That was completely uncalled for! Go straight to the dean's office, right away! Then we'll see if you have such nerve…"

Alyssa Cabot spent the rest of that day sitting in the dean's office, and Willy Wonka decided that she was right, and at least his father didn't send him to that school _on purpose_.

Things at school, however, hardly got any better for Willy. Whatever hope he had of enjoying himself was now replaced by dread of being ridiculed by his classmates, all because his deepest and perhaps only ambition in life was to become a chocolatier. The only part of his day that was even the least bit bright was the short mealtimes spent with Alyssa. The girl was quite talkative, and was a package of quite a few quirks, some of which were beginning to rub off on him.

He was quite pleased when Alyssa stayed at the school over the winter holidays, though he didn't think to ask why she was staying. He assumed he knew well enough, anyhow.

More and more, when he was around Alyssa, he found that his heart still kathumped and kathumped many times over, just like it had when he first saw Alyssa. Still, he told himself that it was such a silly thought that he would fancy his best and only friend at Oscar Jarvis Academy, and probably anywhere else, for that matter. Of course he didn't fancy her, he repeated over and over again. But every time he said it, his young twelve-year-old heart kathumped louder and louder, like a drum pounding in his ears.

Whether or not Alyssa could tell that Willy had taken more than a friendly liking to her, she continued being friends with him, regardless of the fact that she had a quite a few friends of her own. Sometimes, she and Willy would sneak out of their rooms at night and spent entire evenings in front of the radio or television set, eating their fill of whatever sweet treats they could get their hands on. The time they spent together was filled with conversation – always pleasant, never awkward.

These times, however, were not to last forever.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a rather chilly winter day at Oscar Jarvis Academy. William Wonka and Alyssa Cabot were no longer quite so little. Both of them were fifteen years old, and still the best among the best of friends. On this particular day, when the wind outside was especially blustery, and the hallways were especially lonely, since everyone else had gone away from Christmas holidays, the pair sat at what had become their very own spot in front of the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa. Their conversation had meandered to the subject of Willy's future business as a chocolatier.

"With a name like Wonka, no one would take me seriously," Willy chuckled, "No one wants to do business with someone named _Wonka_. I'm going to change it."

"Change it?" Alyssa said, resting her chin on her hand. "What would you change it to? Something old and boring?"

"Well, at least your name _sounds _like the name of a person you do business with," Willy muttered. "Who'd buy anything from _Willy Wonka_?"

"I would, for one," Alyssa said matter-of-factly. "You're making candy, not…_vacuum cleaners_. Personally, I like your name. I think it makes you stand out."

Willy grinned widely, wider than he did when speaking with anyone else. He still reacted this way whenever she paid him a compliment, and he was flabbergasted that Alyssa had never noticed. It doesn't matter, he would always think to himself, she'd run off in the other direction if she found out what he thought of her anyway.

But this time, he oddly found himself _wanting _her to notice, and wanting it very _badly_. Fifteen years old was, in his young mind, getting quite far along in years. Soon, Willy thought, I'll have grown up, and then what would there be to do? It was about time he started growing up, like the other boys in the school, he supposed.

And _growing up_, it seemed, meant _having a girl_.

For Willy, the problem was not _who _the girl was, but _how _one could possibly, ever, in a million _years_—

"Willy?" Alyssa said, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. "Did you fall asleep with your eyes open or something? I'll bet you didn't hear a word I just said."

"I did too," Willy replied. Alyssa looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and chuckled quietly when he couldn't say anything more.

"I _said_," she continued in mock exasperation, "That once we're out of school, we could run a business together. We could own our own shop anywhere in the world, without anyone telling us what to do. What do you think?"

"Perfect," Willy grinned. Perhaps he wouldn't even _need _to tell her anything. If they were going to open a shop together and see each other every day, it would just come naturally that they'd…

_Fall for one another_?

Indubitably possible, Willy thought. Indubitably.

"Miss Cabot," said a teacher, standing in the doorway, "The dean would like to speak with you for a moment."

"Oh, what did I do _now_?" she muttered, smirking and giving Willy a curt, subtle wink. "I'll be back."

She got up and capered off, her long hair flailing around and hitting the wall behind her as she turned the corner. As soon as she had left, Willy stood up and took a glance at himself in the mirror.

He wasn't, he realized, at all an ugly boy. If he hadn't been so pale, he would have even ventured to call himself handsome. He flashed a grin at the mirror now. One thing he grudgingly owed to his father was the fact that his teeth were nigh impeccable. And hadn't he been Alyssa's friend – her _best _friend – for years? If anyone stood chance of winning her over, Willy resolved to himself, it would be himself.

Willy changed his mind completely about _waiting _until things just _happened, and _set himself in thinking that he must neither dilly nor dally – if he was ever going to say anything, then it would have to be soon. He decided to say something the minute Alyssa came back. Unsure of how long that would take, he set himself down in an armchair by the fire and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Should have guessed, Willy thought. Alyssa must have gotten herself into trouble again – probably another detention with the dean. Lately, she'd been having more and more "inappropriate outbursts," as teachers called them, especially about her parents.

Clueless gits, Willy thought of the schoolteachers. Those blind old bats couldn't tell that everyone in the school felt the same way. Especially during winter holidays, when most children were at home with their…

…Their _families_.

And here were these supposedly _lucky _children of Oscar Jarvis Academy, whose parents didn't want to take them home fore the holidays; whose families were too busy seeing the world to sit down to dinner together, even once.

Oh, _sure_, these were the lucky ones.

Willy decided that he would just have to go and find Alyssa himself – which was really no problem. The things he wanted, he reasoned, would not just come capering to him. He would have to chase after them a bit. This was just a good bit of practice.

He got up quite jauntily from his seat and started walking towards the office. When he heard someone in the room say, "I believe you realize what this means, Miss Cabot," he was sure he had found her. He knocked on the door, and at first received no response. Then, the door opened, just a crack, and the dean peered her head out.

"Mr. Wonka," she said somewhat anxiously. "I suppose you'll want to come inside?"

"Actually, I just wanted to see if you were finished with Alyssa," he said impatiently.

"Yes, yes," the dean said, "Come inside."

Somewhat annoyed, Willy followed directions and followed the dean into her office. He felt relieved to see Alyssa, and wanted to just get her out of the office as soon as possible – but he then realized that Alyssa was not the only other person in the room.

In the seats next to Alyssa were two older people, a man and a woman. _Older _didn't even seem quite the right word to describe the couple. They looked fairly young, only _just_ old enough to be -

"Mr. Wonka," the dean said, "I don't believe you've met Mr. and Mrs. Cabot?"

"You're Alyssa's…" Willy cut himself off.

"My parents," Alyssa said, somewhat uncomfortably. By the look on Willy's face, it was evident that he was wondering what they were doing here. "They just arrived a little while ago."

"Oh, so you've come by for a visit," Willy said, "How…_nice _of you. How much longer are you staying?"

"Not long, I hope!" Mr. Cabot chuckled. "Only as long as it takes for someone to bring down Alyssa's things."

"Alyssa's things?" Willy asked, looking at Alyssa, who couldn't seem to bring herself to meet his gaze. "You're bringing her home for the holidays, then?"

"We've just decided to bring her home for good," Mrs. Cabot said gently. Alyssa flinched, then looked up at her best friend, who now bore a look of complete shock.

"Mom, Dad," she said quietly, "Can I have a minute alone with Willy?" Alyssa's parents nodded and left the room, followed by the dean, who shut the door behind her.

"You're leaving?" Willy said weakly. "I thought you said you hated your parents, I thought you said they didn't –"

"I didn't _think _they wanted me!" Alyssa said quickly, "But they came here to get me, and they _want _me at home. I'm getting a chance at a _real _family, and I can't say no to that…you understand, right?"

"Oh. Yeah, it's all right." Willy shrugged, defeated. "I wanted to tell you something, by the way."

"Tell me what?" Alyssa said curiously, cocking her head to one side. Willy looked up at her.

"I -" he paused. Was it really worth it now? Was it worth telling her that he was in love with her when in a matter of minutes, she'd hop into an automobile, then onto a plane, and head home to America? It really didn't seem necessary to put himself through the trouble… "I forgot."

"Oh." Alyssa said, and Willy could have sworn that he detected just the slightest hint of disappointment in her voice. "Well…I should get going. My parents didn't really want to stay around long."

"So…I guess this is goodbye, then?" Willy said, trying to look nonchalant, but he felt his face growing redder by the second, especially when he noticed that Alyssa was growing a bit teary-eyed.

"I guess so," Alyssa sniffed. "But I'll see you one day when you're the richest candy maker in the world. And you know what I'm going to say? I'm going to say, '_I told you so._'" She smiled weakly, then swiftly gave her friend a swift peck on the lips. "I'll miss you," she said, glowing scarlet in the cheeks. She flashed him one last of those magical smiles of hers, then scurried out the door. And that was the last young William Wonka would see of Miss Alyssa Cabot.

…for a while, at least.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N- Ugh, back after the longest time! I had an extremely long hiatus from writing at all, seeing as my latest couple years in high school were hectic. But what matters is...I'm back now, right? Anyhow, back to the logistics of the story. I've skewed the timeline of the movie by about 10 years, so Willy and Alyssa are both roundabout twenty-eight, instead of closing in on 40 years old. Also, since our beloved Mr. Wonka hasn't made his appearance yet in this chapter, and it's indeed still quite early on, I was thinking about how to write my adult-Willy. While Johnny Depp's a complete Adonis (though not so much in full Wonka regalia), I always found Gene Wilder's portrayal a lot more endearing personality-wise, so hopefully you can deal with my weird, experimental meshing of Johnny/Gene-Willy. Cheers!_

* * *

Alyssa Cabot was very much the opposite of what her parents had wanted her to be. She had gotten far in her professional career, indeed become quite accustomed to wearing a pencil skirt and those dreadful pantyhose to an office building every day, reviewing the same redundant papers through a pair of boring, black, horn-rimmed glasses. She'd been able to afford an extremely chic loft where she lived alone in it bland, undecorated atmosphere, and had earned enough money to live comfortably off of for a long time, but she soon found that she had little desire to do what her parents wanted. She'd existed on the face of this colorful and at times extremely odd Earth for a period of less than three decades, and already, she'd eradicated all traces of anything wonderful and fun, all those frivolous things she'd always seen as completely essential.

Something had to be done.

After a lot of arguing and a fair period of the silent treatment, Mr. and Mrs. Cabot decided to let their only daughter do as she pleased without interference. So, Alyssa left her job at the large business corporation and invested her time in something far more satisfying…

She now owned an ice cream shoppe, a popular spot in town that topped its ice cream only with crumbled Wonka candies, upon the insistence of the owner. Word had spread to the town youngsters, and eventually to all of Alyssa's employees, that Alyssa had once known Willy Wonka. She couldn't go even an entire day without having to answer a barrage of questions about the famous candymaker.

"When is Mr. Wonka going to come visit us?" one little girl asked excitedly through a mouthful of Wonka Fudge Ripple Sundae. Alyssa just laughed, waving a hand dismissively at the girl's question.

"I'm afraid Mr. Wonka doesn't remember who I am," Alyssa said nonchalantly, albeit betrayed by a nostalgic smile that hinted at a glimmer of hope behind her skepticism. "He and I are only silent business partners now. I get my shipments for the shop, and I send money. He and I don't speak to one another, and it's just as well – I haven't really the faintest idea what we'd have to talk about."

"That's too bad," the young girl replied, crestfallen as she wiped her chocolate-moustache away with the sleeve of her bubblegum pink sweater. "Since you loved him and all."

Alyssa blushed and didn't reply.

Shay, Alyssa's assistant manager of the shop, rounded on Alyssa after the crowds of the day had dispersed and smirked knowingly, leaning across the mint green marble counter which Alyssa was in the process of cleaning – the interruption irked the young woman terribly, but Shay persisted. "You're going to see him again," she said. Her green eyes and red hair seemed absolutely alight, as if illuminated by the fact that she knew something which Alyssa didn't. "Word's gotten out about this shop, and it seems that Mr. Wonka has sent a request to drop by, endorse it himself."

"Oh, great," Alyssa said sarcastically. "_You _can meet with him then, because he isn't going to remember me, or even recognize me. It's absurd, and I'm not going to be able to stand it."

"I'm not letting you get away from meeting with him tomorrow, even if—"

"TOMORROW?" Alyssa interrupted, "He's arriving tomorrow, and you only just tell me TODAY?"

"Well, the mail is rather slow," Shay said. "I didn't get the letter until today, and he obviously didn't think to ring and confirm…"

"Then he's obviously cancelled on us," Alyssa said, somewhat relieved. "For God's sake, Shay, you scared me."

"_Ooookay_," Shay said skeptically, untying her apron and hanging it on its respective hook. She shrugged, heading for the door and pulling it open with a tinkle of the bell that hung above it to signify the comings and goings of all their patrons. "I'm going home. G'night, boss."

When Alyssa was satisfied that Shay had gone for the day and she was alone with her shop, her baby, her creation, her life, she allowed herself to slump into one of the colorful booth seats, resting her elbows on the table and her head respectively in her hands. The last time she'd seen William Wonka, he was a pale, gawky, but admittedly endearing teenager whom she'd kissed and told, 'Goodbye, then.' Moreover, they'd been best friends for a good number of years, before Alyssa had become so serious, so bland, so _businessy_. In part, she'd left her cushy occupation because she wondered how little her old friend would respect her if he learned that she went against every argument she'd ever used to stand up for him and his dreams to be chocolatier – in her young mind, his ideas he kept in that notebook of his were just frivolous enough to work.

Though really, she pondered with a distant smile, after she'd left a job which men twice her age would both kill and die for and opened an ice cream shop she wasn't in too much of a position to call anything frivolous. She'd very much enjoyed growing up with the quiet, curious, and indeed somewhat eccentric boy as her companion in all of her mischievous endeavours. Briefly, she allowed her mind to wander curiously to the thought of what he would be like after all these years – it had been over twelve, after all. She laughed dismissively to herself, getting up from her seat and going back to cleaning the wonderfully mint-toned marble counters, feeling quite assured that while she wondered, it was a fact useless to be questioned that William Wonka was no longer a tangible part of her life, and for that sole fact, she'd assuredly never know. Finishing the washings and sweeping in her beloved shop, Alyssa took off her apron, smiled at the sight of the place which represented all of her hard-work and self-discovery, then locked up for the night.

However, even as she walked out of the shop and to her car, she found herself unable to banish her musings about Willy to the back of her head – she'd be sure to give Shay a sound thump across the head, no doubt of that, she assured herself as she stepped into her car and started it. Unfortunately, as she began to back the car out of its parking space, it rain over a trailing of broken glass she'd neglected in her musings. Alyssa let out a very unladylike string of curses, stepping out of her car. It was late, very dark, and indeed, she was in no mood to call a tow truck just to bring her home. She resolved herself to locking up her car for the night, and spending the evening in the rather colorful accommodations of her shop. She groaned, running a hand through her hair as she trudged back and unlocked the door, settling down in the same booth she'd been in earlier.

Lucky, she thought to herself as she curled up on the cushion, eyes fluttering quickly shut in the dark glow of her shop, that Willy won't see what a mess I'll be in the morning.

* * *

_A/N - Short chappie, I know, but you know, reviews encourage me to write more. Plus, I'm working on the next chapter as we speak._


	5. Chapter 5

_Alyssa?_

Alyssa Cabot very much hated those dreams where someone spoke out her name and she couldn't for the life of her figure out who was doing it. Not knowing _anything_ was incredibly frustrating for her, probably owing to all of those years in that stuffy old office. She hated being left guessing about anything and everything one could imagine, and those dreams were no different

_Alyssa?_

Fortunately, this was not one of those dreams.

_ALYSSA CABOT?!_

Alyssa gave a surprised yelp, waking abruptly and rolling off of the cushioned bucket seat in surprise at being prodded, the sound of her name being rather impolitely yelled ringing in her ears. She rubbed her eyes to find that all the shades were drawn down in her shop, and hardly any sunshine peeped through them.

In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a strange glass…_contraption_. And suddenly, she realized that a very fair-skinned man clad in a large coat and a top hat was hovering over her and looking at her, more than just a bit bemused at her appearance. She must have looked ridiculous, she concluded.

Alyssa leapt up and began straightening her mussed hair and wrinkled clothing, realizing that it had been _Willy Wonka_ that had been jabbing at her so persistently with a walking cane, trying to get her to awaken – and she'd been so assured, slept so peacefully, knowing that he wouldn't see her in this state.

And then, as her sleep-clouded head cleared, something dawned on her.

"You -- you still remember me?" Alyssa stammered unsurely, blinking skeptically at Willy, who smiled rather unseatingly at her – did he always seem so chipper? she wondered though chipper was hardly the word to describe it. _Collected_, she corrected herself internally. He was certainly quite collected.

"Of course, I remember everyone," Willy responded with an equally charming laugh, eyes sparkling with the mischief that Alyssa had forgotten she'd even taught him back in their younger years. The allusion to their first reconciliation at Oscar Jarvis Academy, however, did not go unnoticed. Alyssa gave a small smile, and stepped forward to hug her fond old friend, only to find that he quickly, _reflexively_ drew away from her. She blinked at him a few times, taken quite aback, and now, he looked very much amused by her surprise, as if it were completely natural to shy away from embracing a friend he'd just greeted so cordially. "You're _surprised_ to see me? It appears that you're _far_ from being prepared for company," he grinned impishly.

"Well, I hadn't expected –"

"My letter said 9 A.M." he said matter-of-factly, "On the _dot _– one ought to pay attention to these things."

"Well, it did arrive a bit late –"

"Late?" Willy scoffed. "Why, I had one of my Oompa Loompas deliver it last night –"

"Umpawhattas?" Alyssa interrupted, holding up a hand to Willy's face. "And last night was a bit short notice, William –"

"_Bah!_"

Alyssa's eyes went wide at his sudden outburst, so loud and shrill that it seemed to echo off of the walls – he certainly _was_ eccentric, and his eccentricities appeared to have grown in proportion to his height – he was a great deal taller than her now, and she herself had grown a bit lithe and lanky – a far cry from the tiny child she'd been the last time they'd even laid eyes on one another.

And handsome, she noted silently to her own satisfaction, indeed handsome. He reminded her, she decided, of a doll – the simile was a perfect one, as strange as it seemed. The man was constantly smiling, but Alyssa couldn't help but feel that he was strangely stiff, in his own way very intentional and rehearsed. This was not, Alyssa noted, the same eager and open boy she'd been friends with, and it was just as well, because hardly bore any resemblance personality-wise to the easygoing and joyful girl she'd been either.

Then, she realized what had distracted her from beginning a tirade to begin with. "Something the matter?" she asked finally, returning to the subject of his strange outburst.

"Hate the name William, _hate _it," Willy said, accentuation his distaste for it with an exaggerated retching sound. "You always call me Willy."

"_Called_." Alyssa answered reflexively, grimacing inwardly when she did. "I mean, you know, we haven't seen each other in ages, that's all I meant by—"

"You're forgetting something," Willy interrupted again, still bearing that rather disarming grin as he shifted his weight onto his cane, cocking his head. Alyssa merely blinked at him and mused at the incongruity of it all – he was so wonderfully conversational, said everything he pleased, yet earlier, when she'd gone even anywhere nearer to him than professional etiquette allowed, he'd leapt back like a grasshopper as though it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Forgetting what, exactly?" she asked, pursing her lips slightly and raising an eyebrow. Ought she have brought something? Documents of some sort? Perhaps, she hypothesized, he'd specified something in the letter which she'd conveniently never even seen. She'd give Shay hell for it later –

"Oh, this isn't how this was supposed to go _at all_!" Willy laughed mirthfully. "You've forgotten all about the way this was supposed to go. I'm the richest candy make in the world, now it's only your end of the deal that's left to be held up," he chuckled matter-of-factly. His eyebrow arched when he realized that Alyssa was staring at him, looking completely bewildered. She _hadn't_ remembered. "You were going to say you told me so."

"Oh." Alyssa said, blinking somewhat dumbly – this entire situation was a bit surreal, and would have been so, even I she _had_ been completely awake. "Oh, that's right. I said that…right before…"

"Before you went home," Willy supplied for her, that grin on his face not wavering for an instant. Alyssa wasn't sure what she'd expected – had she expected their reunion to be an awkward one full of libidinous tension, all because of one measly spur of the moment kiss? What an absurd thought, she mused dismissively. She decided that she thought Willy seemed very much a child, except with the poise and indeed the vocabulary of an adult.

And indeed, adults were what they were, she resolved.

"So, getting to the point," Alyssa said stiffly, sounding eerily like the businesswoman she had sworn to herself she no longer was. "My co-worker mentioned that you caught word of my shop –"

"Well, this _is_ surreal," Willy inserted jovially; Alyssa clenched her teeth slightly. He'd certainly developed the tendency to interject at the most inopportune moments, so long as he deemed the moment fit. "I don't think you've ever been able to talk to me seriously before. And without _smiling_," he added mischievously. "Have those impeccable bicuspids deteriorated with age?"

Alyssa clapped a hand over her mouth quite consciously, but quickly pulled it down, huffing slightly is exasperation – could he not go for an entire minute without switching trains of thought? It seemed that this entire conversation was very much a game to him. She would have never hesitated to go off on him, had she not realized that he was looking around her shop appraisingly, glancing at the brightly colored walls, decorated with eccentric art and photographs, all wonderfully frivolous – he grinned, seeing it all and thinking that while it didn't seem to mesh well with this strangely professional-sounding woman in front of him, it fit perfectly with the thoughts that accompanied the memory of the young girl who'd found him in his father's offices.

"You like it?" Alyssa asked carefully, noticing the way his gaze darted around, quite surprised to find that she cared very much what he thought of her shop.

"Funny how things come out exactly the way we planned them," he mused, not even looking at Alyssa, instead glancing upward as though he'd now decided to scan the ceiling. Alyssa couldn't help but notice the way his eyes twinkled with a child-like joy, quite the way that hers used to. Somewhere deep inside, however, it stung that he seemed entirely unemotional and unmoved by the fact that they were in the same place again – Alyssa extrapolated that perhaps he was not the type to be particularly moved by _anything_, and so, she wouldn't try.

Not that she'd ever intended to in the first place, she assured herself.

"Yes, well, you're the best at what you do," she replied with a demure grin, unsure of what else to say, and for a brief moment, she could have sworn she saw a flicker in that impeccable mask of an expression on his face – she chalked that up to wishful thinking. Unadmittedly defeated, she looked up at the wall clock and groaned slightly. "I need to open up the store –"

"Nonsense!" Willy interrupted jovially, ignoring the grimace it brought to Alyssa's face. "We need to get going! On our way, come along!" He chirped, bowing back and gesturing toward the glass contraption which Alyssa had completely forgotten to ask about,

"Excuse me for asking," she said carefully, laying a skeptical eye on the structure. "But this little elevator –"

"Wonkavator."

"Gesundheit."

"No, silly woman," Willy laughed, tipping his top hat back after it fell over his eyes from laughing so heartily. "This isn't just any elevator. It's my great glass _Wonkvator_."

Elevator, Wonkavator, Alyssa thought, either way I doubt it'll hold.

"I can smell skepticism," Willy chuckled, noting the disbelieving expression on Alyssa face. "Smells awfully like black licorice," he replied cheekily, placing his arm about her shoulders and all but dragging her into the glass elevator. "You're going to love this. Just _love_ it."

"I'm sure," Alyssa smiled stiffly, just before Willy reached out for the button.

* * *

_A/N's_

_Hee! Wow, this must be a record. You didn't have to wait two years for an update this time. Fear not, I've actually got the entire thing planned out, so it's going to get finished. I'll chug through somehow._

_Thanks immensely to my reviewers for last chapter! That was a big factor that kept me going and set me in my decision to keep writing this. It's actually extremely fun, moreso than I remembered! Reviews and tips are greatly appreciated! We're heading to the chocolate factory now -- and just so it's clear, the Wonkavator didn't bust in the roof of Alyssa's shop, hee. Next chapter's in the works -- this one didn't have anything too important, but it'll get better later._

_Cheers for now! Hopefully, you'll get the next chapter within the next week._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N - Two chapters in one day -- a bit heinous, isn't it? Hee! I actually meant to condense this and the last chapter into one, but I guess I got a bit overexcited. Anyways, here we go! Just to get things moving -- the next chapters are going to be longer, more substantial, and more plot-pushing. Enjoy!_

* * *

Alyssa hadn't at all enjoyed the ride in the Wonkavator, especially because she'd hardly even been able to see anything the entire way through the thick clouds. The entire way was bumpy, and if she hadn't looked completely unruly and unpresentable when she'd left her shop, that was definitely an appropriate description for her appearance now. Needless to say, and she was obviously relieved to have her feet back on the ground inside the factory, where she was met by a very smiley boy she could only guess was Charlie Bucket – he'd of course been all over the papers. He seemed quite eager to meet her, but with a smile, Alyssa realized that he was probably glad to meet anyone. 

"So where are we going?" Alyssa asked, looking up at Willy, still a bit dizzy from their '_flight_' to the factory. Willy looked at her with a grin, shaking his head.

"_We_ are going our separate ways, my dear," he said smoothly. "I have my work, you know. I'll be here promptly at 4 to see you off. Promptly. You remember what that means, don't you?" he chided playfully. Alyssa pursed her lips slightly at the quip, but allotted herself a laugh.

"It'll come to me eventually," she laughed, waving him off then turning back towards Charlie, who seemed to be fighting back a fit of laughter after watching the two of them. "So you're my tour guide?" she asked with a smile. "I've heard all about you, Charlie Bucket."

"Mr. Wonka was excited to have you here," he said with a grin, crossing his arm and starting to walk over towards a door – Alyssa assumed that by this point, Charlie knew the factory as well as Willy himself, or at least nearly so.

"It's alright, you don't need to be patronizing," Alyssa laughed good-naturedly, quite aware that Willy seemed to be very intentionally detached as far as she was concerned – it was very nice of Charlie, she thought, to try and make her feel as welcome as possible, but if she were to believe that Willy was anything more than pleasantly indifferent towards her presence in his factory, she'd need to see it for herself.

"But I'm not!" Charlie insisted, walking down a corridor, with Alyssa following at his heels, staring around and looking very amazed indeed – she hadn't even gotten into the heart of the factory, and already, she was mesmerized. "Mr. Wonka had the Oompa-Loompas fixing and scrubbing all morning to make sure everything looked perfect."

"Everything _is_ perfect – and he didn't seem to excited to see me," Alyssa replied matter-of-factly.

"But I'm around him all the time, I _know_," Charlie laughed knowingly. "You just need to get used to him."

Meanwhile, Willy stood in the Inventing Room, feeling quite disinclined to do much inventing, if any at all. Instead, he was caught in mulling over the fact that Alyssa Cabot was still frustratingly endearing.

Not that he was frustrated, of course, he assured himself. When she left Oscar Jarvis Academy, he'd concluded that he was better off. Women only cried and whined and cried more – and tears in chocolate, he concluded, would make the confection terribly salty, and as such, it was just as well that he'd started his chocolate factory without her. She'd done the same after all, Willy pointed out to himself – she'd found herself successful enough in a very _sweet_ enterprise, with or without him, though Willy relished in the fact that her business was linked quite inextricably to his, and their connection was quite amiable, quite professional, and of course, quite profitable. Best of all, things were simple this way, and there was a certain majesty in simplicity, Willy mused to himself with a grin, which is far above all the quaintness of wit. (1)

However, that didn't stop the all-too familiar _kathump-kathump_ in his chest when he'd landed his glass elevator in her shop, and he'd come across her familiar face sleeping at a table. In all honesty, once she'd left the school he hadn't given a great deal of thought to what she would find herself doing years down the road. Indeed, he'd been taken by a bit of surprise when he'd learned that she'd found herself quite close to what their own plans together had been, and the surprise was a pleasant one when he'd learned that she was so faithfully committed to using his chocolates in her shop, this business meeting was quite a perfect excuse for him to see it all for himself. He'd never let on, of course, because it would have been horribly sentimental that he should still find her more than a bit endearing after all this time, and sentimental things made women cry. He wouldn't have those horrible salty tears in his factory, not anywhere near his chocolate.

She was admittedly, however, nice enough to be around – she wasn't troublesome, as Willy had thought all women would be. She didn't complicate things and that was justification enough for letting her into the factory.

* * *

"Oh, Charlie told us you'd be coming," said Mrs. Bucket warmly, hugging Alyssa as she walked into the door of the Bucket family suite – which, Alyssa noted to herself, was practically large enough to a house in an of itself. After spending the entire walking around and exploring bits of the factory, sampling along the way, Charlie had thought it would be nice to have the Alyssa meet his family, though she wasn't sure why. "Have you eaten yet today? I'll bet your starving. Mr. Wonka's little elevator –" 

"_Wonkavator_, ma," Charlie corrected.

" –is quite a ride, you look a bit peaky." Mrs. Bucket finished, unfazed by her son's interruption, ushering Alyssa kindly to a chair. "How about some hot cocoa?"

"Oh – oh, yes please. That'd be nice," Alyssa said, pleasantly surprised, but also confused. Mrs. Bucket was so motherly, the way Alyssa was sure that her own mother had never been. She was quiet up until the mug of steaming cocoa was practically under her nose, and she looked gratefully up at Mrs. Bucket. "Thank you," she said with a polite smile.

"Don't be so shy," she laughed warmly, patting Alyssa on the shoulder lightly as she began to sip at the small mug of cocoa. "You should feel at home here if you're going to be around so much."

"Oh, no!" Alyssa laughed, flushing for a reason that she couldn't quite put a finger on. "I have a shop – I'm just here for today. Mr. Wonka invited me," she said, stumbling over her words a bit. Mrs. Bucket merely smiled knowingly.

"So, you know Mr. Wonka –"

"Where my name is uttered, gossip surely follows," came a voice from the doorway – Mrs. Bucket's grin broadened when she noticed Alyssa perk up and turn around quickly upon Willy's arrival. He greeted their guest with a polite tip of his hat. "It's precisely 3:50 – you'll want to be heading back to your own shop soon, I'm sure, but you don't possess a particular affinity for being on time," he teased.

"You'll never let me live that down, will you?" she laughed, moving her hair away from her face – she was a bit embarrassed at the fact that she'd met with not only Willy, but the entire Bucket family, and she hadn't even had the chance to change into some decent clothes. She was admittedly relieved as Willy and Charlie began walking her back down the corridors to the entrance – at least the next time they all met, she thought, she'd look half-decent, and be more prepared to meet with Willy, and his Wonkavator, and Umpasomething-or-others. However, they were met with an unforeseen obstacle when the opened the front door to the factory – a flurry of wind, water, and thunderous sound met them, and it became clear that conditions were nowhere deal for a trip of any distance.

"A storm?" Charlie asked, peering out as they quickly shut the door to keep the draft from coming in. "She can't take the Wonkavator all the way back to her shop in this weather, Mr. Wonka."

"Absolutely right," Alyssa nodded, placing her hand on the doorknob. "I'll call a cab."

"Tisk tisk," Willy clucked, swatting her hand away from the door. "I don't allow taxis within a half mile of my factory. Security purposes," he explained frankly.

"Then I'll walk for half a mile then hail a cab once I'm a _safe_ distant away," she said with a slight smirk, reaching for the knob again, only to have her hand swatted away again.

"Complete nonsense," Willy said in a sing-song voice. "I can't have a fellow sweets entrepreneur venturing out into the rain and being struck by lightning right outside of my factory, it'd look _terrible_ in the papers. You'll stay here until the storm clear, and I'll see you back to your own shop properly." Alyssa laughed along with him, though inexplicably disappointed that he hadn't mentioned any sort of unconditional concern for her – but conditional concern, she supposed, was better than no concern at all.

"But you never let anyone –"

"Charlie, it's very rude to interrupt," he said with a grin, raising his cane as if to hush the boy. "Now, will you pleases show Miss Cabot to a room?"

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) quote by Alexander Pope_

_Hee, so Alyssa's stranded in the Wonka factory. Not that I'd mind being in her position -- but don't think I'm going to make it that easy. Oh, and I'd like to thank** Yva J.** for reviewing so promptly to my last new chapter, just earlier today. I'd advise anyone else reading to follow her example, haha. In any case, hope to hear from you, and be ready for the next chapter within the next few days, because I'm actually on a roll lately, and now that my school semester is nearly over, I'll have even more time to write. Cheers!_


	7. Chapter 7

Alyssa had found herself comfortably settled in one of the suite-like rooms in the Wonka factory. After an admittedly long day, she'd been silently overjoyed to have a bed to sleep in, and a four-poster, feather-down quilted one at that. She'd fallen asleep straight away, and didn't wake up at all until there was a knocking at the door to her room. After taking a minute to stretch and rub a bit of wakefulness into her eyes, she walked over to the door and opened it, holding back her surprise when she saw one of the orange-faced, green-haired Oompa Loompas she'd only seen from a distance the previous day.

"Mr. Wonka requests your presence in the cocoa room," he said simply, and Alyssa was thankful for the fact that the poor dear didn't take offense to the surprise on her face at seeing an Oompa Loompa for the first time so close. She knew it was rude to stare, after all. Then, it dawned on her, the message the Oompa Loompa had come to deliver.

"He does?" Alyssa asked, but before the question had even completely left her lips, the Oompa Loompa was bowing, walking away before she even had ample time to thank him. "Talk about a thankless job," she muttered to herself with a small grin, albeit endeared by the fact that the Oompa Loompas went about their business so willingly, didn't question things, and merely lived.

Alyssa went back into her room, attempted to fix her hair as much as possible, and change out of the night-robe one of Willy's Oompa Loompas had left in her room to sleep in. She still only had her clothes from the previous day to wear – a white silk shirt and a pencil skirt that made her look horribly misplaced and business-like here – but she was sure they'd understand that she hadn't brought anything else anyway.

She wandered for a bit down the corridors around the vicinity of the room which she was supposed to find, thankful that she'd noted where Charlie had told her everything was, and found herself at the door to the cocoa room in a relatively short amount of time, considering she wasn't at all too familiar with the factory and the rooms therein.

"Miss Cabot," Willy said cordially, gesturing for her to sit down at the table across from him, where a mug of steaming cocoa was already waiting for her. "Just the girl I wanted to see." Alyssa willed herself to fight back the slight warming sensation in her cheeks as she moved toward the table and took a seat, suddenly and inexplicably wishing that she had something more decent looking to wear. She quietly sat down to her cocoa. "Since you're going to be stuck her for at least a day or so, I think it'd be a prudent time to talk about our future."

Alyssa cleared her throat, trying to hide the fact that she'd very nearly choked on the warm cocoa going down her throat. "Our – our _future_?" she asked with feigned nonchalance. "I'm not sure what you mean. Do tell."

"As 'no-longer-so-silent business partners,' of course," Willy laughed indulgently. Alyssa could have slapped herself in the face for thinking that he'd been insinuating anything by it. Willy pulled up a pad of drawing paper with a few drawings on the page. "Now, the first item of business is a logo—"

"I like _my_ logo," Alyssa said shortly. Willy merely smiled impishly at her.

"What a wonderful coincidence. I like _mine_ too. And it's rude to interrupt," he said, very easily brushing off her protests. While Alyssa was busy half-glaring at him, he pulled out a rather interesting-looking pencil from the pocket of that purple coat of his, which had never failed to catch Alyssa's eye, even from the first moment she saw him wearing it in her shop. "Try," he said simply, holding the eraser-end out to her. Alyssa eyed him skeptically. "Go on, give it a lick," he said, moving it closer to her. Hesitantly, Alyssa leaned over and ran her tongue over the eraser, then took the pencil from his hands, looking over it curiously.

"Chocolate," she laughed quietly. "I should have expected that from you." She pulled the drawing pad closer to her and began trying a design of her own – she silently mused over the fact that the ones Willy had designed were actually quite good, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her say it aloud. "How about –"

"Oh, _no_!" Willy said firmly, looking flabbergasted. "That's far too square," he said, tugging the drawing pad way from the pencil in Alyssa's had. "It ought to be more rounded – I _do _enjoy doing things in a more roundabout manner," he grinned.

"Imagine that," Alyssa muttered under her breath as she reached out to try and grab the paper from him again, but Willy heard it clearly enough and held it just out of her reach.

"Well I don't really _need_ to if it's reality," he laughed, waiting for a short while before letting Alyssa continue drawing and designing on the pad of the paper – he gave another chuckle. Their game of tug of war had indeed felt like old times, and he felt safe in thinking it wasn't too atrociously sentimental to feel nostalgic because of that.

She looked extremely different when she was concentrating hard on something, Willy mused. Perhaps it was because she wasn't putting so much effort into seeming so professional. When she wasn't attempting to keep her nose turned up, she hardly looked as if she'd changed at all from the very young girl that Willy was far more familiar with.

"—Willy? _Hello_?" Alyssa interrupted. Apparently she'd been talking for a few moments already, and Willy had been far too caught up in his own thoughts to notice. "Are you even listening to me?" she laughed warmly, waving a hand in his face as though she hadn't yet successfully gotten his attention, and Willy couldn't help but grin back at her; when she smiled, he was quite assured that this was _exactly _the young girl he'd once known. "I was _saying_," she continued, "that if you're going to complain, you could always do it yourself." She pushed the pad toward him and held the pencil out in his direction for him to take, but instead of taking it from her hand, he surprisingly curled his hand over her smaller one, making the necessary changes to the design with her hand still in his – though both were oblivious to the fact that they both were thinking the same thing, they both found themselves hard pressed to focus on the drawing pad and not the joined hands drawing on it. For a strange, silent moment after the drawing was very much finished, their hands remained in the same position, his clasped over hers. Both had resolved themselves to the excuse that they were merely admiring the drawing, if the other would have cared to venture the question. Neither did.

"Alright, you win," Alyssa admitted, slowly taking back her own hand, though still resting it on the table close enough to his that their knuckles brushed against one another; she looked up at Willy with a bright smile that caught him off guard as much as his own smile did to her. "I'll admit it. It fits perfectly. The – the logo design, I mean," she stammered. "It fits perfectly."

"Yes, yes it does," he said in a clouded, more distant tone, as if his brain was processing the fact that the two of them were looking at one another and comfortably having a pleasant conversation for the first time in _so_ many years, and had they both been able to read one another's minds, they still would have been able to differentiate the _kathump-kathump_ of one heart from the other. "Perfect…"

Willy could only be thankful that before he could do something horribly foolish and sentimental, someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and Charlie's head popped in to view. "Mr. Wonka?" he asked, rapping his knuckles on the door. "There's a clog in the pipes – it's hardening, it's too cold," he said matter-of-factly, though he indeed had seen what appeared to be going on with Alyssa and Mr. Wonka. Even to one as young as Charlie Bucket, the signs all pointed in the same direction.

Willy quickly but smoothly pulled his hand away from Alyssa's, standing up from his seat. "Well, I _do _need to be going – quite the dilemma, you'd understand. Can't make a river with hard chocolate, you see," he said with a pleasant, but again stiff grin, tipping his hat to Alyssa. "Charlie will escort you back to your room. Make yourself at home, won't you?" he asked before whisking himself out of the room.

Alyssa, admittedly, felt quite strange as to what happened. For a brief moment, it had seemed that she was indeed the young, loudmouthed, overly inquisitive and independent girl, and Willy, the small, shy, quietly humorous boy they'd both been years ago, when really they were apparently not those people at all. Still, she attributed that to the fact that it was still quite early in the morning, and perhaps under those conditions, they weren't feeling particularly like themselves. It didn't occur to her that perhaps, it was the only time in the past day or so that they really _had _acted like themselves in the slightest. She stood up and looked at Charlie, who smilingly offered his arm to walk her back to her room, and though he was a good bit shorter than her, Alyssa accepted.

He was indeed a talkative boy, and Alyssa found it refreshing, until they arrived at the door to her room, and he made a very surprising observation.

"You know," Charlie said innocently, "I don't think I've ever seen Mr. Wonka so unbusiness-like with a business partner."

"Well," Alyssa said, putting some thought into an answer to a question she'd still had yet to answer for herself. "I suppose he's remembered that we used to be friends."

"Oh," Charlie nodded, tossing the idea around in his head. "I didn't think Mr. Wonka still _had_ friends. He always said that all he needs are me, the Oompa Loompas, and his work – but I think you're really nice," he said genuinely, something which admittedly warmed Alyssa very much, if she hadn't been made sufficiently comfortable here already. "I'd want to have you as a friend too."

Unable to help herself, Alyssa leaned over and gave him a small peck on the forehead before going into her room.

When she turned around after shutting the door, she looked curiously at the bed, at something which certainly hadn't been there before – a white sundress with delicate violet eyelets around the hem, folded nicely with a note attached, written in very ornate lettering.

_Something clean to wear – dirt and chocolate don't at all enjoy one another's company, do they?_

Alyssa laughed, shaking her head and knowing not to take offense – in fact, it was very nice. Right away, she changed into the sundress and twirled briefly in front of the mirror. I wonder, she thought as she allowed herself a deliciously frivolous giggle, if Willy will think I'm pretty.

At that singular thought, she stopped with a frown, mid-twirl, realizing that she cared what Willy thought of her now, and it was indeed _very_ inappropriate to care what one's business partner thought of their ensemble.

She'd fancied Willy a bit twelve yeas ago when they'd been children, but she hadn't ever felt it was her place to speak up about it the way she did about everything else. She felt as if it was never appropriate to overstep the bounds of the bright-eyed best friend who'd discovered him hiding in a coat closet, and she certainly couldn't overstep those bounds now, when she could barely see them as being friends at all.

No, she decided, she was fortunate enough to be business partners with the man – she'd never heard of him forming many affiliations or connections outside of his own shop, professional or otherwise.

Still, she mused – and her chest gave a sound strangely similar to a _kathump_ – Willy had surely chosen something very pretty for her to wear, and perhaps it would do her little harm to go one believing that he'd chosen for more than the fact that it was something clean to wear in his factory.

Charlie Bucket, unbeknownst to her, had heard her entire fit of giggling through the door, and immediately hatched a plan. It was a perk, of course, of working with the great Willy Wonka that wonderful ideas came quickly and abundantly. He knew exactly where Mr. Wonka wandered off too in the factory at any given time of the day, and now, it was nearly tea-time.

* * *

_A/N's_

_I actually really like this chapter, which is why I got excited to actually put it up -- don't know if you'll like it as much as I did. Anyway, I'm starting to have things moving along a bit, I like pacing myself when I write. In any case, I like reviews, if you couldn't tell! Cheers!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N_

_Hee! Longer chapter for you guys this time, and things from here on out are going to pick up a little. _

* * *

"Charlie," Alyssa said, now cleaner, better clothed, and being pulled down the hallway by the smaller boy – she wasn't of too hardy a build herself, so it wasn't much of a chore to tug her around like a rag doll. She'd pulled a book off of the shelf in her room, any book at all – this one happened to be _Pride and Prejudice_ – and had intended on going back to the cocoa room to read and have a drink, only to find that Charlie was outside of her door waiting for her. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously, looking quite flabbergasted when he pulled her into a checker-patterned room with only one door. 

"I'm showing you around," he grinned simply, turning the handle on the door they'd just come from, and Alyssa knew that grin very well. It meant the boy was up to something.

"Oh, alright," she sighed in resignation, eyes going wide as she realized that they'd come through the same door, yet somehow had found themselves in a very different place – as Charlie took her by the forearm and pulled her across this new room, she had to crouch down in order to fit. "I don't think I like this," she said with a grimace as Charlie flipped open a panel in the tiny door and began playing the keyboard that appeared there, appropriately miniscule as well.

"You _won't_ like it," Charlie laughed, pushing open the door to reveal the most fantastical scene that Alyssa was sure she'd ever laid eyes on – if she could have attributed anything to the Willy Wonka the world spoke of, it was this place. "You'll _love_ it. It's Mr. Wonka's chocolate room."

"My _goodness_," Alyssa muttered, stepping inside and beginning to walk down the stairs as the door closed behind her. She held on to the handrail as she surveyed the scene, sure that if she let go, she'd faint from the sheer brilliance of it all. "Is this – it can't all be –"

"Edible?" Charlie piped up with a grin, stepping besides Alyssa and pulling her by the sleeve down the stairs, and onto the grass below, appreciating the whimsical joy in her face and suspecting that he wasn't the only one who appreciated the expression from her in those rare moments her guard was lowered enough to give it. "Absolutely! Nearly every bit of it," he explained happily.

Alyssa took a seat on the grass, smiling and looking up, realizing that she was staring into a _very_ bright light. A thought hit her, and a strange sense of panic rose in her. "Is that the sun?" she asked Charlie, squinting upwards and trying to look – if in fact it _was_ the sun, then the weather had cleared, and she could go back home now. She ought to have been happy to finally get back to her shop, to the fragile normalcy of her life she'd worked so hard to attain.

"Oh, no, that's a heat lamp, keeps the chocolate river from getting too hard," Charlie said with a grin, oblivious to her thoughts. Alyssa reflected his smile in great relief, walking over to the flowing body of liquid and looking down at it, quite glad actually…but only because she didn't need to be in a horrible rush to be going home now, she assured herself. "Don't touch it," Charlie chided playfully. "Mr. Wonka's very picky about that."

"That's why Willy's so clean about everything," Alyssa laughed. Alone. She turned around to see why Charlie wasn't laughing with her. "Charlie?"

The boy was nowhere to be seen.

"That little _imp_!" Alyssa squealed in frustration, realizing that for one reason or another, Charlie had tricked her into coming here. She plopped back down onto the grass and rolled onto her stomach quite childishly, knowing she was very much lost and would never be able to find her way back alone. Instead, she picked up the book she'd dropped onto the grass in her amazement earlier and opened it, starting to read – she'd never been too fond of this book in particular, but for the moment had nothing better to do. Satisfied that she was alone, she began reading aloud to herself, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune –"

"—_must be in want of a wife_," recited a voice behind her. Alyssa sat again and looked up to see Willy stepping off of a rather grand miniature riverboat and walking towards her. "Silly book, isn't it?" he asked with yet another of those grand smiles, sitting down next to her.

"Silly for the fact that everyone's so serious, you mean?" Alyssa laughed, leaning back on her forearms, closing the book and setting it down beside her – she was so glad to see Willy, she quit forgot her annoyance at Charlie for leaving her by herself here in the first place.

"My, you _do_ catch on quick," Willy chuckled, tipping his hat to Alyssa, who playfully rolled her eyes at him, laying back into the grass and shutting her eyes, basking in the bright light of the wonderful, albeit artificial sun. "And I do admit," Willy continued, allotting himself a glance at Alyssa while she was in this state, convinced that he was merely appraising the dress he'd chosen for her. "I have very good taste in women's attire. It suits you well," he laughed. Alyssa sat up, pursing her lips as she eyed him.

"Careful," she said in a mock-warning tone, a mischievous lopsided grin gracing her features. "That was quite nearly a compliment."

"Of course it was!" Willy laughed matter-of-factly, intentionally construing her meaning differently from the way she'd meant it. "I enjoy assuring myself of my good taste. The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places." (1)

Alyssa sighed, shaking her head – not that she'd expected it to be a compliment for her in any case, she assured herself. "Oblivious as ever," she muttered as Willy began busying himself with appraising the inner sanctum of his chocolate factory. Believing that their conversation was through, Alyssa stood and began walking around, but she had only made it a few steps away to a tree covered in vine that looked curiously like licorice when Willy's voice piped up again.

"I take it you found your way here with Charlie's help?" he asked, sitting back down where they'd been sitting moments earlier, and seeing him return, Alyssa felt compelled to sit back down as well.

"Correct," she laughed, picking a candy blossom off of the grass under her and popping it into her mouth playfully. "Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury in finding my way back."

"Well," he said, the icy politeness that normally lurked behind his smile seemingly thawing away as he plucked a buttercup for himself and one for Alyssa, holding it out to her. "I'm afraid you're doomed to join an old friend for tea until he feels compelled to see you safely back," he teased. Alyssa smiled gently at being referred to as an _old friend_ – this first time during his entire stay that Willy had acknowledged her as anything. She laughed brightly, looking surprisingly whimsical and ladylike in her sundress, sipping tea in a room made entirely of candy. It was all so silly, and in a very secret pocket of her heart, she found it absolutely wonderful.

"_Alyssa_," Willy chimed into her ear, and Alyssa found she'd been so distracted, she hadn't even realized he'd said anything. "As I was saying – you know _quite_ a bit about me, through no fault of your own, I'm sure," he chuckled. Of course, not everyone knew who Willy Wonka was – only anyone with a television, a newspaper or any access to the outside world whatsoever. "I think it's only prudent as business partners that I should possess some details on yours."

"Oh," Alyssa said, lips parting slightly as her gaze diverted, going quite deep into thought – she knew the details of her own life, of course, considering the fact that she'd been the one who'd lived it, but she'd done a great deal of living with a very small amount of contemplating over it. "Where to begin," she mused quietly. She began by describing the life she'd lived with her parents immediately upon leaving Oscar Jarvis Academy, the way they'd immediately brought her home and showered her with presents and clothes to amuse herself with, considering they were never home. She breezed through the description of her school life, and skipped to the description of the day she accepted the position at Allied Sciences and Research, and the lavish but hollow lifestyle it allowed her to live.

"Well, that's rather silly of you," Willy piped in, shaking his head and staring at Alyssa as though she'd gone completely mad, not caring that he'd interrupted her entire narrative. "Imagine, deluding yourself into believing that wasting away in an office was your dream."

Alyssa looked up at Willy, brow furrowed and looking quite confused. "I never thought _that_," she defended, the tiny buttercup sitting forgotten beside her. "I just did what I thought I needed to," she said, feeling slightly embarrassed now that Willy knew all this about her, as though her material success and the sacrifices she made to attain it were some sort of deep, dark secret.

"In any case," Willy said in an aloof, denying sort of tone that seemed absolutely unreal coming from him, added to the fact that he wasn't even looking at her anymore. "I find it positively foolish not to follow one's dreams."

"Come on, now, Willy," Alyssa said, sitting up and crossing her arms and feeling mildly affronted now – Willy wasn't judging her at all in reality, but she felt that way the second he called her actions foolish. "You've never talked yourself out of anything because you thought it seemed absolutely out of the question? Haven't _you_ ever walked away from something you wanted?"

Willy remained silent for a moment at this, and indeed, _his_ own secret seemed to bubble to the surface of his mind. Had he ever walked away from something he'd wanted? No, it had walked away from him. It walked away from him with a brief moment of a kiss in the office of a boarding school, and he'd decided to forget it had existed, until now when he could no longer deny it. "Just the once," he said in the same aloof tone, which led Alyssa to reach out and place a hand on his shoulder, not understanding how the question would have garnered such an unusual response from him. He lifted up his wrist and pulled up his sleeve as if to look at a wristwatch, though there was no watch there. "Oh, goodness, is that the time? I've got to be going –"

"Willy, wait, I don't know how to –"

"Plenty of inventions which still need inventing can't very well invent themselves!" Willy breezed quickly, standing up and walking back towards the boat where two Oompa Loompas were rushing over to row him off. Alyssa remained completely speechless as Willy left without another word, leaving only one thought in her mind.

She'd have to find her way back to her room alone.

And eventually, she did, ruminating the entire way over on what about their conversation had upset Willy so greatly. If anything, she thought, she was the one who had a reason to be upset by it – his opinion of her must have been terribly shattered, now that he'd found out what she'd done since their last meeting.

Not that it mattered between business partners, Alyssa thought.

It was nearly dark somehow, by the time Alyssa finally found the right corridor which led to her room, and she was quite tuckered out from the long time she'd spent reflecting. As odd as it seemed, all of it tired her greatly, because she hadn't turned such a critical eye on herself, not even when she'd decided to open the ice cream shop. Now, all she wanted to do was fall into bed, and after changing into a bright candy-apple-green lounge robe tucked away into the wardrobe, that's exactly what she did.

However, as she fell asleep, she did something she couldn't recall – or at least wouldn't admit to – doing in a very long time.

She dreamt…

_"Alyssa," simpered a young girl, prodding at a very young and very tiny Alyssa Cabot, who was lying on her stomach on her dormitory bed, reading a book. "Why won't you come with us into town today?" Alyssa turned over, putting her book down and looking at her roommate as if she'd gone absolutely mad._

_"There's a very handsome clerk at the bakery – he's new," giggled the blonde girl in the bed across the way. "You'll absolutely fall all over yourself when you see him."_

_Alyssa sighed, rolling her eyes and picking up her book again with one hand and smoothing out her pleated skirt with the other. She didn't much care for anything they'd drag her into town to do, especially not if it included staring dumbly at a boy behind the counter at the local bakery. "Can't," she said simply, "I told Willy I would help him with –"_

_"Listen to you!" the first girl interrupted with an almost cruel giggle that made Alyssa narrow her round doe-eyes; she didn't like the way that laugh sounded at all. "Always 'Willy this,' and 'Willy that' –" one begins to think you fancy that scrawny little oddment."_

_"He's not scrawny!" Alyssa defended immediately, her cheeks reddening slightly when she realized what the first words out of her mouth had been after that accusation. "And I don't fancy him," she said, crossing her arms. The blonde girl gave a slight squeal, shaking her head, and Alyssa glared at her. "No," Alyssa insisted calmly, "I –"_

_"Lyssa…" the blonde girl simpered gently, staring Alyssa down._

_"He's my best friend," Alyssa said stubbornly. "He's my best friend, and I refuse to do anything about it – I absolutely refuse to be embarrassed when he laughs in my face for even thinking it." And with that, she snapped her book shut and stormed out of the room._

Alyssa woke up, not with a start, but still feeling very strange – but as she pushed back the strange feelings that came with the dream, the first thing that came to mind was that she'd left the book she'd been reading earlier in the chocolate room. Stepping barefoot out of bed and walking out of the room, she wandered her way through the dark hallways, back to the checkered Changing Room which she remembered as leading to the Chocolate Room, but when she finally managed to make the room _change_ (though she wasn't sure quite how she managed to do so) she found that the door to the Chocolate Room was open. She wandered in – the lighting was dimmer now, much like twilight – and found the book right where she left it. She walked over and picked it up with every intention of walking back to her room and back to a more dreamless sleep when she realized that the miniature riverboat Willy had departed on earlier was floating still in the chocolate river.

Obviously, there was no one here, so Alyssa paced back and forth on the riverbank in front of it, admiring just how nice a boat it was. She gave a slight giggle when she saw the name _Wonkatania _emblazoned in ornate lettering on the side. It was Willy's factory, after all, and he obviously had no qualms naming anything after himself. Unable to quell her curiosity, she walked over to it, stepping onto the boat hesitantly and taking a seat.

But immediately, it began moving quite quickly down the river, throwing and pinning Alyssa back to her seat. "I don't think I like this," she squealed to herself, her face going nearly as white as her knuckles were from holding on so tightly.

"Few people do," a voice laughed behind her. Alyssa managed to turn her head and see Willy lying quite relaxed on the seat behind her, evidently enjoying the ride. "It grows on you, I guess," he said blissfully, shutting his eyes. Noticing that Alyssa wasn't responded to his teasing, however, he opened his eyes to find that she was sitting stick-straight, looking straight forward. He sat up and leaned forward over the back of her seat. "You're not afraid, are you?" he chuckled as the boat sped through a tunnel, thrashing around a bit. "If I remember correctly, you were never afraid of anything."

"What makes you think I'm scared of anything _now_?" Alyssa snapped back through gritted teeth as the boat slowed to a brisk, rocking pace, allowing Willy to stand up and sit next to her to better view and be amused at her evident terror.

"You're shaking," he pointed out with a sly grin.

"It's cold," she retorted defiantly.

"Well, here then," he said with a grin, easily slipping off his purple coat and dropping it on her shoulders – even in her distressed state, she noted that his coat, which had always been eye-catching, was comfortably heavy around her with a warm cocoa scent. Predictable, she noted, smiling inwardly though in fact, her face remained completely stoic. "You're as stubborn as ever," he noted.

"And you're just as oblivious…"

"Come again?" he asked – she'd muttered at a volume not even meant for his ears, and he hadn't quite heard it, but he very well knew what he _thought_ he'd heard, and what he _thought_ he'd heard pleased him for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I didn't say anything," Alyssa said sharply as the boat came to a halt on a platform in front of a door marked 'Inventing Room.' Reeling from yet another strangely uncomfortable moment, Willy stepped out and assisted Alyssa in doing the same, noting her attire – much like a very fuzzy lime, he noted.

"You look very silly indeed," he said with a smile, and suddenly, it was all just a facetious game between the two of them once again, not saying anything that they really meant, and in fact not acknowledging they meant anything at all.

"Thank you," Alyssa laughed quietly, knowing that to him, silliness held only positive connotations. Silliness was good and joyful and simple – everything that Willy desired, she thought with a smile.

The two of them walked into the Inventing Room, not quite doing anything, besides having Alyssa ask polite questions about the contraption, with Willy giving strangely brief answers to every single one of them – which was all well enough, since Alyssa was barely listening to a word he said to begin with.

"Charlie tells me the storm has finally died down," he said suddenly, staring down and running a hand calmly over one of his many wondrous machines. He himself had been oddly torn when he'd heard the news. Of course he was glad that perhaps now, he could get some work done, but an even greater bit of him lurking beneath that wondered if he'd have been equally as pleased to hear the storm outside would last for ever, for completely different reasons.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Alyssa said, trying her best to sound pleased, though really, she felt strangely disappointed. "Don't think I dislike it here – but you understand better than anyone. I just miss my shop terribly," she said with an honest expression.

"Ah." Willy said simply, turning around to face her with an unreadable smile. "Alyssa…before we get caught up in our own busy business again –"

"Yes?" she said with an uncontrollable eagerness in her voice.

Willy closed his eyes gently and laughed, shaking her head. "It's very rude to interrupt," he said gently. "As I was saying…you're satisfied, aren't you?" he asked. "With the way things have come out after all this time?"

"Oh." Alyssa said, feeling strangely disappointed. "Yes, I suppose – very much so," she nodded, hoping beyond all hope that it wasn't obvious that she wasn't being completely honest.

"As I expected," Willy nodded with a lopsided grin. "I'd say the same for myself, except—"

"Yes?" Alyssa piped in with the same tone as before.

"Patience," Willy laughed at her. "I've just yet to return something you gave me a very long time ago. I believe very much in symmetry," he said matter-of-factly, but the fact that his tone was so straightforward didn't explain the strange, very serious expression evident in his eyes. Alyssa had only seen it once before, when she'd been talking to him in that office, so many years ago, as though what would follow would indeed be something very serious, something he'd been thinking quite hard about.

Alyssa looked at him strangely, blinking as though the look she noticed from him was merely a trick of the eyes. "Willy?" she asked unsurely. "I don't remember anything –"

But before she had the opportunity to finish her thought, Willy had leaned over, brushing his lips briefly against hers, and it felt so strangely familiar for both of them. It lasted a mere second, before the both of them stepped back, looking expressionless at one another, as though the sky fallen to pieces and they hadn't the slightest idea how to put it back together again. They remained silent for a good few moments, before Willy spoke up.

"Have a good evening," he nodded with a tilt of his hat, walking towards the back of the Inventing Room, leaving Alyssa standing quite speechless yet again, realizing only that by tomorrow, she'd be home, and the only thing that would remain on her mind for a _very_ long time was that she'd been kissed by the most famous chocolatier in the world, and evidently, he had thought completely nothing of it.

* * *

_More A/N's_

_(1) The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler_

_Anyways -- good? bad? Not the most romantic thing in the world, but such is life. Can't always have trumpets and roses and whatnot, have to let the tension simmer a bit! Hee! Also, my hands are getting a bit tired from typing, I'm just so excited to be updating again, haha. In any case, I'll leave you with this a a closing note for at least a day or two, before I update again. Try and guess what's going to happen next -- or even better, try and predict where the plot's going to go. Guessing's a wonderful pastime. Cheers for now!_


	9. Chapter 9

Alyssa supposed that it was an accurate summation of her life thus far to say that life simply went on. Things did not get much better, but thankfully nor did they get much worse. In fact, upon returning to her ice cream shoppe after two dizzying days spent in the Wonka factory, it seemed that nothing had really changed at all, and, she convinced herself, that was precisely the way she liked it. And today, she thought with a grin, was thankfully a very busy day in which she'd have very little time to think about the events that had so recently transpired.

"What's that?" Alyssa asked curiously as she tucked a towel into her apron pocket and looked at one of her young regular customers taking a bite from a candy bar in a very unfamiliar wrapper.

"Calloway Mallow Molarbuster," the child replied in a slightly muffled voice with the telltale bits of chocolate flying from his mouth that told you he was talking with his mouth full. Alyssa laughed, snatching the candy bar out of the boy's hand and plopping it down on the counter.

"That's not a Wonka – off with your head," she laughed, giving the boy's hair a ruffle as her laughed, taking his ice cream cone and walking out the door to meet his parents, the last customer of the day before closing. Alyssa stood in the doorway looking outside, only interrupted by the sound of Shay chewing.

"You know, these aren't bad, if you enjoy cardboard," Shay laughed, swallowing the bite with a good bit of difficulty. "I'd suggest we give them a try in our sundaes, but seeing as you've already taken your clothes of for Willy Wonka himself," she smirked.

Alyssa looked at her friend and co-owner, looking quite scandalized. "_Shay!_" she snapped in a shocked tone, but recovered quickly, regaining her composure – this had always been the dynamic between the two of them. Shay never hesitated in doing or saying anything when the mood struck her "Really, Shay – he just gave me a dress because he preferred me to be wearing something –"

"Sexy?" she suggested. "Scandalous? Revealing?"

"—_clean_," Alyssa smirked matter-of-factly, throwing her towel playfully at her friend. "And I changed in my own room, thanks very much. Honestly," she laughed, rolling her eyes and picking up the candy bar that Shay had placed down on the counter. "You really need to keep that imagination of yours in check." Now, she shifted her attention to scrutinizing the candy bar in front of her. "These are Calloway bars?" she asked, taking a tiny bite from it, but quickly grimacing, spitting it out into a napkin. "Interesting," she said, making a retching noise with an expression of disgust etched all over her face.

"You know of them?" Shay asked, pushing the bar away from her as Alyssa dropped it back on the counter. "They've apparently been in business awhile."

"Seen them in or mom and pop liquor stores – bottom shelf near the register – sure, but never advertised," Alyssa said after a short second of thinking. "And I see why," she laughed.

"Well, somehow, they've gotten quite a fan base," Shay laughed. "You wouldn't consider a change in our business, would you?"

"Shay," Alyssa chided with a grin. "I already have a deal with Willy – _Mr. Wonka_," she corrected herself quickly, cheeks growing red as her gaze shifted downward. "We're business partners," she muttered, speaking almost directly to her feet as though it cleared up anything.

"Right," Shay laughed, brandishing her cleaning towel near Alyssa's face. "That explains why all your _transactions_ had to be conducted in private."

Now, Alyssa was absolutely and mortifyingly embarrassed, knowing what Shay was thinking, even in light of the fact that it was all absolutely untrue. "It's _all_ for the business," Alyssa responded, the discomfort quite evident in her tone. She took a deep breath, picked up the Calloway candy bar, and waved it close to Shay's face. "This _thing_ is nowhere near as good as a Wonka Scrumdiddlyumptious, and _that's_ why it's not going anywhere near _my_ ice cream," she said with a smug smirk, inwardly amused at the idea that her best friend and co-worker could be so irrational.

Simultaneously and unbeknownst to either, the other half of the confectionary non-couple was undergoing very similar torture in a very similar conversation.

"Charlie," Willy said as Charlie and he were engaged in yet another hard day's work in the Inventing Room. At rather inopportune moments, he found himself remembering that Alyssa was no longer present in the factory, and that fact in and of itself was quite distracting. In fact he wasn't sure what disgruntled him more: Alyssa's absence, or the fact that he noticed it at all. "That was a very sneaky thing you did yesterday," he chided the younger boy, "letting Miss Cabot get lost in the factory – what if she'd fallen into the river?"

"She wasn't lost, Mr. Wonka," Charlie replied, a very pure sort of childlike knowledge twinkling behind his eyes as he looked up at his mentor, noting that he was pouring a bit too much flavoring into the mixture he was working on, and obviously not too focused on the task at hand; Charlie relished in what appeared to be at least a modicum of success, as far as his intentions were concerned. "I left her where I knew you'd find her." At this, Willy paused, looking at Charlie with a lopsided smile and a raised eyebrow: an expression which was meant to tell the boy that he was meddling somewhere that he ought not have begun to meddle in. Charlie merely laughed, rolling his eyes. "You're very stubborn, Mr. Wonka," he chuckled mirthfully, finishing up his own experiment, taking off his labcoat, and setting it aside. "I worked really hard on that plan," he huffed matter-of-factly as he walked out of the Inventing Room.

Standing alone in the room, Willy pushed aside his own beaker, only just realizing that he'd botched it up because his mind was wandering about in places he'd been reluctant to explore at all. Most of all, he couldn't help but wonder what on earth, the moon, or the stars could have possessed sweet, kind Charlie Bucket to do something so strange and sneaky. Then again, however, Willy mused, he'd done some very strange things himself in the past day or two that Alyssa had been there, and he couldn't at all see why he would act so strangely around a business partner – for that was all he thought her to be, was it not? She couldn't be the same girl he'd known over twelve years ago, not after all she'd done, after all the time she spent abandoning the dream that had been hers as much as his. The Alyssa Cabot he knew would never do such a thing. Yet here he was, working through a flurry of emotions she stirred up that felt strangely familiar.

It all in his mind only verified his theory that women had a way of complicating things, and very unnecessarily at that.

All women did was cry and apply silly creams on there faces that they couldn't even eat, Willy had once led himself to believe. Yet now, a new thought arose in his mind. Women, or one woman in particular, read intelligent books, he continued internally, and looked very pretty in white sundresses.

And it occurred to him that Alyssa had never cried in his chocolate. Not once.

Indeed, if the time spent in the place hadn't been trying enough, the questions that arose upon Alyssa's departure made the day far more complicated for both of them, and both were glad to retire for the evening, for they were sure their bed sheets wouldn't be harsh critics of them – though with the way things were going, neither would have been surprised if their bedroom furniture grew mouths just for the purpose of questioning them as well.

Alyssa slept quite peacefully now that Shay wasn't here to put more questions or suggestions in her head. Alyssa Cabot enjoyed her small flat, and was quite comfortable there. In peaceful repose, she lay beneath her covers, pleasantly cozy.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to last.

"_Lyssa_!" a voice came from outside, followed by a pounding on her front door that succeeded in rousing her from her sleep. She rolled out of bed, and trudged over to the door, opening it to find a very frantic-looking Shay, who was surprisingly well put-together for such an ungodly hour of the morning. "I just got a call from the police – they think someone tried to break in the shop!"

Alyssa's eyes went wide at that, all intentions of ushering Shay not-too-politely out and going back to sleep completely forgotten, and she stepped outside, shutting the door behind her and rushing out to her friend's car. She gnawed nervously on the inside of her cheek the entire way, steadying herself to see her shop in shambles, broken glass and all.

But she came across the place looking quite exactly the way they'd left it when they'd closed up the previous evening.

"It looks _fine_, Shay," Alyssa said matter-of-factly, stepping out of the passenger side and crossing her arms. "I don't see anything broken or anything."

"I'm not sure," Shay said in a warning, quiet tone that Alyssa couldn't help but be worried about. Shay pulled her to the shop, and placed a hand on the doorknob, only to find that it was open. Wide-eyed and uncharacteristically hesitant, she looked at Alyssa, whose eyes suddenly glinted – this shop was her _world_, or rather, it seemed, she had more than once sacrificed her world _for _it, and if someone were there trying to harm it in any way…

"Hello?" she yelled into the seemingly empty, darkened shop, squinting to get a good look around as she stepped into the middle of the room. Everything seemed precisely right, though, it occurred to her – the register was still very much in tact, and that would have been the first thing someone went for in the event of breaking in. No one had touched the artwork on the walls, the ice cream chests, the padlock was still on their storage pantry. Alyssa sighed shaking her head, and turned around to look at Shay. "Shannon McKinney – what on earth?!"

Her partner had a sly grin on her face, and was shutting the door to the shop behind her with Alyssa still inside – it had been their idea for this shop to have locks that locked from the outside rather than the inside, and suddenly, Alyssa felt that the idea had very much turned on her as she ran over to the door and futilely began banging on the wood surface, looking at Shay through the tiny glass panel as though the girl had just shoved her down a well.

"It's for your own good, Lyssa," she called through the door with a smirk, turning and walking away.

"Open this door _now_ or – or you're fired!" Alyssa fumed, banging fruitlessly on the door as she yelled at Shay's retreating back. "Shay, I swear, when I get out of here, I'm going to –"

"You shouldn't do anything rash to her," a voice behind her chuckled lightheartedly, and even without recognizing, the tone was such that Alyssa could tell that it came from someone who meant no harm. "She's actually very useful. And helpful too – as close as you can get to an Oompa Loompa with anyone above four feet tall, in any case."

"Willy," Alyssa said flatly, blinking and rubbing her eyes – had she felt completely awake, she would have been amused at the fact that this was the second time Willy had shown up unexpectedly in her shop to find her barely decent after waking up. "It's three in the morning, and you're _here_. What on the good Lord's green earth possessed you to – you're craving ice cream at this ungodly hour?" she said, yawning as her thoughts failed to even string together fluidly. "You must be pregnant," she joked snidely.

"Alyssa –"

"You know, I ought to have guessed," Alyssa laughed, pacing around the room and almost incoherently following through on her joke, her back turned to Willy as she spoke, "with your good taste in women's attire and everything –"

"_Alyssa –_"

"It's very rude to interrupt, you know –" she laughed, but upon turning around, she found that Willy was standing quite close behind her. _Dangerously_ close. Close enough that if either of them so chose, they could…

Alyssa fought the urge to shake her head to try and wake herself up, for she absolutely sure that in the _real_ world, this entire scenario wouldn't be happening. She'd be in bed right now, and wouldn't wake up for a good four hours. Willy would be back in his factory. Things would have gone back to _normal_ by now – but the more Alyssa fervently willed herself to wake up, the more it gradually dawned on her that she was already very much awake. She paused, inhaled through slightly parted lips, then slowly spoke. "William –"

"_Bah!_" he exclaimed – and in that instant, the strange spell of tension and fear that had formed between them was broken; Alyssa let out a tinny, liberated laugh at his outburst, recalling how much he despised being called William. She inwardly kicked herself when she realized that she'd thought calling him _William_ would have made the situation more romantic. She shook her head, tossing her dark, loose curls slightly back, still laughing mirthfully at the wonderful absurdity of the entire scene –

— and gently, Willy caught her chin, just as her eyes were at their very brightest from her laughter, and gave a gently mischievous smile, his eyes focused playfully on hers. "That's far better," he laughed quietly, noting the laughter which still hadn't died from those orbs, and he couldn't resist thinking that he very much preferred her this way. "This was beginning to feel _horribly_ grown up," he said in a much softer voice, still grinning boyishly as he chastely claimed her lips with his own, this time lingering for a few moments before taking the tiniest step backward, just enough, Willy noted, so that they could look at one another without going cross-eyed.

Alyssa half-expected him to turn and walk away again, to saunter casually into the glass elevator which she only just noticed was peeking out slightly from the back of the shop. But he merely stood there, bearing a glorious smile which Alyssa graciously matched with equal fervor.

'You're very full of surprises," she laughed, pushing her hair back.

"Yes, but nothing dangerous, of course," he taunted, cocking his head. "But I suppose you're wondering 'what on the good Lord's green earth' brought me here." Alyssa could only nod mutely, not too sure of what to expect. Of course, if she _expected_ anything, it wouldn't be much, not much at all – but expectations and hopes are rarely, if ever, the same things. "I felt horribly hypocritical," he said simply, and although Alyssa's outward expression didn't change, her heightened emotion fell slightly as his answer seemed to meet her expectations far more than her hopes. "And hypocrisy's terribly complicated. _Terribly_. Couldn't concentrate whatsoever."

"Hypocritical?" Alyssa asked, not understanding what he meant.

"Of course," Willy said with a smile, as though he were explaining something to a child — a tone which, for him, implied no condescension in the slightest, taking into consideration that in his own wonderful way, he was very much a child himself. "I did tell you that I thought it was foolish beyond all measure not to follow one's dreams, did I not?" he asked, and in response, Alyssa could only nod mutely. As far as she was aware, Willy _had_ everything he'd ever dreamed of, everything he'd ever _confessed_ to dreaming of. "You mean to say you never questioned what I wanted to tell you, just before you left Oscar Jarvis?"

"I'd – I'd always figured you were just listening through the door to see what kind of trouble I was in," Alyssa confessed with a tiny, shy grin, realizing very quickly that perhaps she'd been wrong – and twelve years was a very long time to be wrong for.

"Well," Willy said, his smile shifting into a verifiable smirk. "I suppose that even those as brilliant as yourself are entitled to the occasional lapse in brightness," he teased, to which Alyssa narrowed her eyes playfully. "I'd meant to tell you how much I enjoyed your company, how much I hoped to continue to enjoy it," he smiled.

That was all – all he'd said to her was that he'd _enjoyed her company_.

Yet, Alyssa thought to herself, finding herself inwardly soaring, that was enough – so much _more_ than enough, and so much more than she'd ever have dreamed of asking of him. She couldn't find it in herself to be disappointed in the fact that he hadn't gone ahead and confessed his undying love for her, because the both of them agreed silently that love was so horribly complicated; everything they had always shared had been so wonderfully simple, and therefore, could not have been love in that sense. Perhaps love was something created by horrible adults to make excuses for the ways in which they complicated things for one another – and this could not be the same as that.

"Willy," she laughed finally, shaking her head and averting her gaze slightly – the situation was so delectably childish and innocent, Alyssa was bursting with a coquettish shyness she hadn't had the luxury of feeling in a very long time. "You're completely oblivious," she laughed, saying it directly to him for the first time, after what felt like countless instances of muttering it under her breath. Willy seemed strangely complimented by it. "I looked for you, every time the headmistress brought us to your father's office. I looked in that closet _every _time," she admitted. "I didn't ever imagine I'd see you again, not at the Academy, not _anywhere_ – but I wanted to," she finished brightly, looking up at Willy again.

"We're positively silly," he said, reaching out for Alyssa's hand and brushing a chivalrous kiss across her knuckles.

"Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it?" Alyssa laughed, and in these brief few moments, she found she possessed no vestiges of the Alyssa she'd been a week ago, a month ago, a year ago.

"Indeed," Willy grinned, tipping his hat playfully, and leaning down for another brief kiss. The instant he pulled away, Alyssa felt him tug her hand, and suddenly, she was being pulled toward the glass elevator. "Come with me," he said, pulling open the door and ushering her towards it. "It's best to travel when it's dark out, or everyone would see the Wonkavator, and everyone would want one – and that would cause horrible air traffic, don't you think?"

Alyssa paused, looking at Willy hesitantly. "But – but Willy, my shop –"

"No excuses, you," came a female voice from the doorway, which had just creaked open, revealing Shay with an extremely impish grin – Alyssa would have to thank her later. "I'll hold down the fort while you're away. Take your time," she added with a wink.

Alyssa stopped briefly to think – and for a moment, her adult mind seemed to take over again. She'd go to Willy's factory and what then? How long would she stay – and if they were not in love, then what more would come of it? She struggled to envision what sort of future would possibly lie in the path ahead if she resolved to take this first leap, and wondered if it was worth risking all the work and self-discovery she'd done until this point, not knowing when or if she would return. And then it dawned upon her – The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant. (1) She looked up at Willy, her smile returning in its full beaming glory – and she took his proffered hand, allowing him to coax her into the glass elevator.

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) __The Awakening __by Kate Chopin _

_Hm. Personally, not my favorite chapter that I've written, but it gets things moving as far as plot is concerned, in any case. I've had a couple people PM me saying that they're just wanting Willy & Alyssa to say they love one another already, but I think that would be horribly hasty. Way back in my original draft, they actually did swap the "L" word in this conversation, but that would have cut the story extremely shorter, and we wouldn't want that, would we? Oh, and Shay's a sneaky little minx, isn't she? Hee!_

_Anyway, I'll get to updating again soon, in exchange for some reviews. Deal? Oh, and I'm still looking for a beta -- I've never had any of my stories beta'd before, though. Oh well, we'll see where the wind blows. Cheers!_


	10. Chapter 10

Alyssa Cabot awoke, still in the four-poster that sat in her suite in the Wonka factory. The previous day had been spent with her following dotingly at Willy's heels as he went about a day's work as he always did. The Alyssa Cabot she'd been a year ago – heavens, the Alyssa Cabot she'd been a _week_ ago – didn't follow, and most definitely didn't dote. But perhaps, she assured herself, the Alyssa Cabot she'd been a week ago wasn't the _real_ Alyssa after all, it couldn't have been.

She rubbed her eyes, stretching slightly as she sat up in bed, quite ready and eager to see what the day brought her, a feeling of invigoration that was unusual for her, yet wonderfully welcome. She ought to have been thinking about whether or not Shay had opened the shop on time back home. She ought to have wondered when she would be getting home. She ought to have wondered quite a few things – but instead, as she spotted a small vase of flowers on her bedside table, she could only wonder why and how they had found their way to her room unnoticed, as she was sure they had not been there the night before.

Alyssa ran her hands over the petals – sculpted red sugar dipped in white chocolate – and smiled as she picked up the small note written in royal purple ink, embossed in gold.

_May this be the first of many sweet surprises, the beginning of another glorious day._

She smiled, sighing and feeling much more awake at that point, standing up and walking over to the wardrobe on the other side of the room so she could change into the white sundress again, having had it cleaned and pressed by the Oompa Loompas. However, when she pulled open the heavy wooden doors, she found that next to the white dress was a far more eye-catching one – the same sort of dress, but pastel green lined in white lace. For a moment, Alyssa could only stare. It wasn't outrageous in any way, the color was light and muted enough not to seem indecent or gaudy, but were still quite a bit more color than Alyssa was accustomed to wearing. Still, it was wonderfully tempting, and she changed into it without a qualm.

It was a relief to actually be able to find her way to the Chocolate Room, where by now she'd learned Willy always visited early in the morning to observe everything running smoothly and freely in this haven for innocence that he had created, everything functioning properly in the way its creator intended. Indeed, Alyssa still went a bit breathless every time she walked into the Chocolate Room, because there was so much to see, it seemed as though it was always changing.

After taking in the scenery as she always did, Alyssa shifted her attention to the figure with his back turned to her, standing at the edge of the Chocolate River, leaning casually on his cane. She smiled, realizing that she was still unnoticed, and walked quietly up behind him.

"Morning, Willy," she said with a gentle, coquettish laugh. He turned around fluidly and grinned warmly, placing his hands gently and fondly on her shoulders after she did a bit of a twirl in the new dress.

"It appears my taste is impeccable as usual," he said, cocking his head to one side.

"Yes," Alyssa nodded, touching one of her hands gently to his that now rested on her upper arm. "The dress really is very nice –"

"I was _referring_," he interrupted with a small smirk, catching her hand and giving her a dancer-like twirl, dipping her gently and meeting her eyes with his own, "to the little nymph who happens to be wearing it."

"Hard at work as usual, I see," she laughed playfully as Willy gently let her back onto her feet, and she caught sight of a roll of large graphing paper sitting on the ground next to him. "Is it too top secret for my eyes?"

"Never for you," he laughed, sitting down on the grass with Alyssa following suit, laying down on her stomach across from him as he unrolled the sheet. "It's the plan for my next project."

"Cakes." Alyssa read aloud – and indeed, the words in large, ornate lettering was the _only_ thing on the entire sheet of paper. He'd been doing a great deal of thinking, it seemed, but hardly a modicum of actual planning, which was very much unlike him. "You haven't designed anything." She added curiously, turning her head to the side as though perhaps, a drawing would appear if she merely shifted and caught the right bit of light – though she'd never seen anything of the sort, it was the sort of thing she wouldn't have put past Willy Wonka.

"Yes, well I haven't the slightest idea how to mix a batch of cake batter _nearly_ as well as I churn my chocolate," he said confidently, gesturing towards the chocolate waterfall, though not taking his eyes off of Alyssa, whose eye were in turn focused on the blank piece of paper. It was a rare occurrence indeed that Willy shared his own ideas, or lack thereof if the instance came about, with anyone.

"Well," she said, staring pensively at the chocolate waterfall, and looking up at Willy after a good bit of thinking, "It's simple, isn't it? By _fountain_," she grinned. She picked up the pencil that was in the grass next to them. "Here, let me see," she said pleasantly, pulling the paper closer to herself and beginning to draw an extremely elaborate-looking design for a fountain-like, multi-layered structure that may well have only existed in her imagination.

Willy found it absolutely fabulous.

"I think you're wonderful," he mused aloud while Alyssa was still working on her sketch. While she didn't pause in her concentration to look up at Willy, he found it quite indulging indeed to see her smile, the same unencumbered, mischievous grin he recognized to be hers, regardless of the change the years had caused. She fit into his world so wonderfully, he was only glad that he'd taken her away from the outside world in time to keep the Alyssa he knew from being lost forever, for when he'd first found her, it seemed she'd been heading in that direction.

"Done!" she piped up, and only then did Willy realize that he'd been in his own thoughts for quite a considerable amount of time. He leaned over her drawing, turning his head so he could view it right-side up. He smiled at the drawing – a fantastical contraption, a fountain of quite a few layers that looked as if it belonged in the front porch of some mansion. He could only grin.

"I'm not sure I believe you've never invented anything," Willy laughed, plucking the pencil out of her hands and placing it down in the grass next to her.

"Now that I'm sure, I'm not sure I never have either," Alyssa said, a far-away expression crossing her face. It was all strangely dream-like, as though her past had faded into non-existence, and the experience she was so savoring in the presence would indeed be her future – she and Willy, working with one another in a life they and no one else had chosen. "It's like what we planned, isn't it?" she asked, the expression on her face turning into a smile, but not quite the same smile Willy was accustomed to. This smile came with so much concentration, with wistfulness, with concern.

"Of course it is," he said, unable to help the very same smile from crossing his own features. Alyssa's nose wrinkled as she held back a laugh at this response.

"You act as if you know everything I'm going to say before I even say it," she said with a playful 'harrumph' as she leaned back on her forearms. Willy could only chuckle at the statement, and at her expression, the same sort of cherubic, childish knowledge that she'd exuded when she'd come across him in his father's coat closet.

"Well, this _is_ my factory, after all," he said with a matter-of-fact grin. "I'm entitled to know the goings-on inside of it."

Had it been any other place or time, Alyssa would have recoiled at the idea of him thinking she was the equivalent of one of his inventions, and that would have been the suggestion she'd have receive from his statement: that he had the right to know her, to _have_ her – though in all fairness, none of that was true of how he thought of her. He merely spoke in the terms to which he was very much accustomed, and in any case, Alyssa's head was so engulfed in a haze of wonder, awe, whimsy, and another emotion she couldn't quite bring her self to identify, she couldn't bring herself to think anything of it. She had grown so attached so quickly to this life, where her and Willy's most pressing concern was his newest invention – _their _newest invention. As absurd as it would have seemed under any other circumstances, she never wanted to leave, not when she'd finally found a means of escaping everything completely.

"I never imagined –"

"Never?" Willy interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you ought to try being imaginative more often, it's quite –"

"_Willy_," Alyssa said, leaning over and placing a finger to his lips. "It's rude to interrupt." She giggled lightly and placed another characteristically light kiss on his lips, and for a brief moment, they looked at one another and somehow felt as though they were realizing all the wonderful turmoil the other had gone through in the past few days, realizing how similar it had been to their own. Willy quite nearly realized that there were things he could not help but feel for Alyssa Cabot, the same girl who had opened a closet door years ago and found herself quite stuck in the most obscure recesses of his heart ever since. Alyssa quite nearly realized that the real Alyssa would never have been so silly as to deny what these undeniable emotions were, as far as William Wonka was concerned. And indeed, she was the first to make any attempt to break the silence – her lips parted ever so slightly to speak, and it seemed that Willy practically leapt to hear what she had to say.

"Willy, I –"

"Yes?" he said eagerly, though this time his interruption hadn't been intentional. Indeed, he quickly regretted it, and regret was a thing to which Willy was wholly unaccustomed – it appeared that Alyssa had no intention of finishing what she had to say, as her gaze had now very abruptly averted to the pencil in the grass, her face reddening slightly. "You shouldn't cut yourself off that way," Willy said as he craned his head to catch her eye, in hopes that perhaps he could recreate whatever that delectably confusing feeling had been just moments earlier. "You might have been about to say something positively brilliant."

"I – I didn't say anything?" Alyssa said, feigning a confused smile.

Their brief encounter would continue to vex Willy throughout his busy workday – or rather, it vexed him that although even the thought of it was terribly distracting, he admittedly had no desire to push it from his mind. Instead, he went about his business, allowing the occasional thought to divert him from his work – after all, Wonka's company was in no hurry to flood the market with new ideas when the old ones worked perfectly fine as they were. The thought of these unintelligible inklings Willy had been experiencing as of late were incredibly frivolous, more frivolous than anything else at the moment, and that alone made them matters of utmost importance.

"The two of you make a very good couple," Charlie piped in matter-of-factly as Willy was testing a batch of cherry flavored liquid for one of Charlie's latest and most interesting ideas. He quickly dropped the dropper he was holding, caught off guard by Charlie's observation.

"Heavens, no, dear boy," he laughed, pushing his project for the moment to aside – it seemed of utmost importance to clarify where his young apprentice had clearly misunderstood the situation. "Just because Alyssa and I work exceptionally well together doesn't necessarily mean –"

"I don't think all of the kissing you both do counts as working," Charlie interrupted, his face very much innocent and unsuggesting – he was merely making an observation that Willy found himself very much unable to argue with. "The two of you are in _love_," Charlie added with an eager grin.

"Love complicates things _terribly_," Willy said, nodding down in Charlie's direction with a cocked eyebrow. "I'm content with the present state of things, and furthermore, I'm content that Miss Cabot is content with the present state of things. Am I clear so far?"

Charlie paused for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. "No, Mr. Wonka."

"Wonderful!" Willy said, shifting his cane up in his hand and using it to point at the clock. "And is that the time?" he chuckled in an amiable, sing-song voice. "I believe your mother would be extremely displeased if I made you late for dinner?" he added with a wink, giving Charlie a gentle prod with his cane.

While he was admittedly young, it didn't mean that Charlie wasn't able to take a hint. He hurried off to the suite in which his family stayed, and settled down to a delicious dinner of roast chicken and onion soup, which he could not thoroughly enjoy as much as he normally would, because he was still very much confused by his brief conversation with Mr. Wonka. After dinner, as he helped his mother do the dishes, the question bubbled yet again to the surface – and his mother was a woman, so, as far as Charlie could wager, she would know the situation better than anyone.

"Ma?" he said hesitantly. "Why aren't Miss Cabot and Mister Wonka in love with one another?"

Mrs. Bucket nearly dropped her dishtowel into the soapy water when she heard Charlie's question, and gave him a somewhat confused smile. "Well, that's adult business," she began with a small laugh. "But how are you so sure that they aren't?"

"Because Mr. Wonka told me so," Charlie said resolutely, and Mrs. Bucket knew that her son idolized Willy so much, he took everything his mentor said as the absolute truth.

"When it comes to these things, at least," she said carefully, "You can't always believe everything that one tells you about themselves – it's ourselves that we often know the very least about."

Charlie blinked at his mother questioningly, as though her answer had been unsatisfactory, and indeed unfathomable. "You mean to say," he began slowly, "that Mr. Wonka lied to me?"

"Not at all, Charlie," Mrs. Bucket said patiently, placing her washing things down and sitting at the empty dinner table, gesturing for her son to take a seat as well. "Perhaps they haven't been around one another long enough for him to realize it."

"Well, I think they're being _very_ stubborn," Charlie said simply, resting an elbow on the table, and laying his chin on his ha, brow furrowing. He looked up, however, when he heard the bedroom door open, and saw Grandpa Joe walk in, presumably to get himself a glass of water. The old man looked around, wondering what was going on, and Mrs. Bucket merely gave him a knowing smile, excusing herself to go to bed – perhaps, she thought, Charlie's favorite grandfather would be able to explain things to him in a way that a young boy could understand. Once his mother was out of the room and Grandpa Joe had taken her seat, Charlie leaned over towards him. "I think Mr. Wonka is in love with Alyssa," he said.

Grandpa Joe gave a mirthful, throaty laugh that made his eyes squint, and his bushy mustache twitch. "Well, isn't it obvious?"

"But Mr. Wonka said it wasn't true," Charlie said, his head cocking to one side.

Grandpa Joe leaned over towards Charlie, as if he was going to tell him a secret. "Mr. Wonka may be an honest man," he laughed, "but this time, he's lying through his teeth, Charlie."

"Ma said he just hasn't seen it yet," Charlie reasoned, trying to put together both what his mother had said earlier, and what Grandpa Joe was telling him now. "But Alyssa's real smart, I bet she's figured it out. I ought to invite her in for dinner."

Grandpa Joe's forehead creased at the thought – Charlie really, truly believed that the solution was so simple, but Grandpa Joe saw the situation for what it was. "Mr. Wonka's afraid of it." He said simply.

Charlie went quiet for a moment – fear and Mr. Wonka seemed antonymous to him, because the Willy Wonka he knew feared nothing. The Willy Wonka he knew had nothing to fear, because this was his world, and he was perfectly in control. "Then maybe," he said, the lilt in his voice reflecting the running of his thoughts, "Alyssa can help figure out a way for him not to be.

A smile crossed Grandpa Joe's face, one that showed through his moustache. "Charlie, that's a wonderful idea."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the ice cream parlour, Shay was still holding down the fort – this is what she got, she concluded, from telling her business partner to _take her time _while she was away. Whether she was right or not, she could only imagine what her friend and co-owner was up to that kept her away for so long. 

"But Shay!" whined Kellie, one of the shop's most faithful patrons, a young girl of eight with angelic blue eyes. Kellie was attached very much to Alyssa, and always had been. She never went to any other ice cream parlor, and was in turn a very evout lover of Wonka chocolates; with her innocent smile and playful heart, Willy Wonka himself would have absolutely adored her. "Where's Miss Alyssa?"

"Oh, don't be such a gossip!" her older sister chided, peering at her from over the newspaper she was reading. She looked up at Shay and rolled her eyes. "She makes a scandal of everything, honestly," she said with a sarcastic laugh, jabbing her manicured thumb towards her sister.

Kellie, however, was unfazed by her sister's lack of enthusiasm. "Is it true what Billy said you told him?" she squealed excitedly, talking over her sister's bored, teenage drone. "Is Miss Alyssa in Willy Wonka's factory? He took her away with him, and they –"

"Oh, _big deal_!" her sister interrupted, standing up and flopping her newspaper down on the counter. Kellie looked terrified at her sister's irritated, jaded outburst. "Nobody older than twelve eats Wonkas after that Golden Ticket fiasco – cost people a truckload of jobs. C'mon, Kellie," she said, taking her sister by the arm and bringing her outside.

Shay had been the bystander in all of this, and now that there were no more customers, she picked up the newspaper the older girl had left behind, glancing at the headline. Her jaw dropped.

**FALL OF WONKA STOCKS SUGGESTS THE END OF AN ERA**

Their business, Shay knew, depended solely on Wonka's business, and if Wonka faltered, then the fate of this parlor would crumble in an instant.

In a flurry of panic, Shay ran over to the phone, calling a phone number that connected to an office phone in the Wonka factory that was rarely, if ever, answer. As the monotonous ring reached her ears, she began muttering to herself feverishly.

"_Please_, Alyssa," she muttered, drumming her hands nervously. "We're digging ourselves into a whole – this place is my baby too…"

And so, she continued calling, met with only the same ringing sound every time.

* * *

_A/N's_

_Sorry about the delay! School's been absolutely insane lately, but I have a bit more time on my hands now that I'm settled. Just in time, too! I'll try not to keep you hanging too long – reviews are always encouraging. Hee! Cheers!_


	11. Chapter 11

After a good bit of discussion at the Bucket family table, they had unanimously decided that a good conversation with Alyssa would give her a good bit of sense, something both she and Willy had appeared to be lacking for her entire stay. So, when Alyssa arrive in a lemondrop-yellow sundress, the Buckets were al prepared, stationed strategically around the kitchen to appear as if nothing were happening besides a quaint family dinner which she had happened to be invited to.

"Where's Willy?" she asked curiously as Charlie escorted her through the door – a rather silly-looking sight, seeing as he had offered her his arm, despite the fact that she was a good bit taller than him.

"Oh, still busy with work, I'll bet," Charlie beamed, and then added coyly, "It's very nice of you to worry about him."

Alyssa went a bit pink in the cheeks, but said nothing to even show that she'd heard the statement at all. Charlie pulled out a chair for her at the table and sat down next to her, sharing a furtive wink with Grandpa Joe who turned around momentarily from peeling potatoes at the other end of the kitchen. Alyssa caught a glimpse of the gesture, but before she had the opportunity to ask what on earth warranted a wink, Charlie came out with what might as well have been a very blunt and heavy object.

"You and Mr. Wonka are in love." He stated knowingly, causing Alyssa's eyes to go wide, and her jaw to open and close a few times in a manner akin to that of a fish.

"In _love_, Charlie?" she said in a sad attempt at a scoff, finally managing after a few seconds to respond to the shock of being cornered. "That's ridiculous, Charlie. Love complicates things terribly."

"So you _don't_ love him?" Charlie asked, raising his eyebrow in a rather endearing gesture, and again came the expression that made him very much want to place Alyssa in a goldfish bowl.

"Oh, Charlie," Alyssa said, not even noticing a rustle and a brief glimpse of purple fabric in the window. "I –"

"You love him and he loves you," Charlie said resolutely, not leaving any room for negotiation or argument. "_You two_ are the ones making things complicated."

Alyssa paused for a moment and sighed, shaking her head. "You're right, Charlie," she said, sounding oddly defeated – she thought perhaps it would be much more simple than this, much less emotionally consuming. "I love him," she said cautiously, letting the words slip carefully from her lips, then saying again with only slightly more conviction, "I love Willy." She paused, now to think. What could she possibly say to justify what she was doing now that she'd admitted to the one thing whose falsehood was the cornerstone of everything that she and Willy had agreed upon thus far. "I love him so much that I refuse to say a word," she said, now sounding nearly as resolute as Charlie had been in calling the state of things to her attention. "It would tear down _all _of this. I love him the way he is – no cares, no regrets, no distractions. I won't ruin him, Charlie – Mrs. Bucket?" she said, her explanation interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. The older woman merely smiled down at her.

"Your heart will tell you _everything_," Mrs. Bucket said warmly. Alyssa attempted to force a smile, but it failed to arrive on her face completely.

"It hasn't had a whole lot to say lately," she said quietly. "But maybe eventually," she said, straightening her skirt as she stood up, dabbing slightly at her eyes with the back of her hand, "it will be silly enough to speak up."

With a short, shuddering breath, she muttered an excuse and walked out the door of the Bucket home. Charlie looked questioningly up at all of his family members, quite puzzled as to what had just happened. He didn't understand this explanation of love, it was far too _complicated_.

"Adults do very silly things, Charlie," Grandpa Joe explained, "But they're adults for a reason. They need to work things through, else it'll all get screwy."

Charlie nodded, pretending that he understood, but really, he thought that things had already gotten screwy.

* * *

Much later that night, Willy sat at the side of his bed, still clad in his hat and violet overcoat. He'd been out and about the factory around suppertime, intending to run his idea…his and _Alyssa's_ idea for their newest invention. He'd made his way to the Bucket family lodgings when he realized the Buckets already had a _visitor_. He lingered outside, not making his presence known, though silence became incredibly difficult to maintain when they began saying some very peculiar things. Before he knew it, he found himself turning on the heel of his impeccably polished shoe and back to his own persona lodgings.

Complicated, he mused, far too complicated.

Alyssa, in his mind, was horribly misguided as to what love was, and as such, hadn't possessed the slightest clue what she was saying when she'd said that she –

Not that it matter in the slightest, Willy convinced himself. He'd brought her here to _inspire_ him, because he knew his work was always the best when he was inspired, and that was absolutely the end of it.

But why, a voice in his head continued to nag him, did she inspire him quite so much, if not because he…

He absolutely could not handle this. These sorts of things had no place in his world, and so, he gave his tousled mane a good shake, then stood up, heading to the Inventing Room, the one place that never failed to make sense.

Willy was soothed, just listening to the rhythmic click-clack of his shoes against the floor as he made his way down the back-way to the inventing room. Normally, the Wonkatania would have been his venue of choice, but the walk in this instance was far more refreshing. He opened the door and walked through to the desk where he kept his plans and projects, only to find a figure clad in a yellow sundress standing in the spot where he usually mulled over his work. _Alone_.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a short, sharp tone that made Alyssa jump slightly as she turned around. She flushed slightly, and Willy wasn't at all surprised – he was a bit relieved that she was appropriately ashamed for the things she'd said earlier.

"I couldn't sleep," she said, sounding uncharacteristically timid as she was suddenly incredibly enthralled by her shoes. "So I decided to get a bit of work done." She looked up and attempted to smile at Willy, the way they often smiled at each other as they discussed their work, only to find that this time, the smile was not mirrored in his face.

"Oh, I see," he said with a stiff nod. "I thought I'd do the same, but I supposed it's a bit silly for two people to try to do the same thing at once at a very small desk." He raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, then turned on his heel away from a very bewildered Alyssa.

Willy was very sure that indeed, she was a confused sort of woman. And indeed, he became quite sure that he had loved her, and she did not at all feel the same way, or else she would not have been able to hide it so deliberately. Love, in the mind of Willy Wonka (for he had thought about it far more over the course of his lifetime that he had let on) was simple and did not consist of lying or selfishness. He failed to realize in that moment Alyssa was not being selfish at all, and indeed was not the only one _lying_. In any case, Willy had said himself that he believed very strongly in symmetry, so therefore there was only one solution to thisapparent lack of reciprocity.

He'd simply stop loving her altogether.

_Simple_.

* * *

_A/N -_

_Sorry for the delay! College is a source of major stress at the moment, so I haven't had a great deal of time to update the story. I hope you excuse me for making this one so short, it's moving things along for the next chapter, which I'm currently working on. It will hopefully be done tomorrow, or over the weekend!_

_I hope you don't hate me for giving Willy and Alyssa the runaround._

_Cheers!_


	12. Chapter 12

It had been an entire day where Willy had successfully avoided another run-in with Alyssa. He very much wanted to avoid her altogether, and yet absurd as it seemed,©t never occurred to him to ask her to leave, not even once.

He was sitting in his office at this particular moment sifting through yet another pile of mail that had gathered within the past few days – it was lucky that he'd taken his mind off of Alyssa, for she'd been horribly distracting from more pressing matters. 

Willy was very much convinced that it was indeed a turn for the better that he now was able to keep from running into Alyssa, which was why he was so particularly vexed to find that his mind wandered constantly toward her, especially in the middle of any of the more superfluous letters he received.

At present, he was midway through reading a letter from an old woman in Lexington who was sharing various anecdotes about how her fifty-seven pet parakeets thoroughly enjoyed a bite of a Scrumdiddlyumptious bar every morning for breakfast when Willy realized that he didn't much care for parakeets. Instead, his mind wandered to very specific day at Oscar Jarvis Academy…

* * *

_Willy and Alyssa were sitting in the library and Alyssa sat, swallowed up in a rather worn brocade armchair that smelled musty, the way libraries often do. She was working on an assignment for class. Willy had only been at the school for a couple of weeks, and still wasn't much for talking. Instead, he merely looked at Alyssa as she sat in that old chair, nibbling on the end of her pen._

_I wonder, he thought, if it would be practical to make pens made of chocolate. An awful lot of people seemed to nibble on them that way and…_

_"Willy," Alyssa interrupted, eyebrows raised questioningly, and only then did Willy realize that his eyes had been quite fixated on her throughout his entire train of thought. "What are you looking at?" she asked, cocking her head to one side._

_"Well, you, obviously," Willy shrugged nonchalantly. He hadn't been around other children much with his father, at least not around girls, and as such, he saw absolutely nothing wrong with looking at someone._

_"I don't think you ought to do that," Alyssa giggled in a conspiratorial whisper, closing her notebook and leaning towards Willy so not to be heard. "When Billy O'Boyle was looking at Cassie like that in art class, you know what they said?"_

_Willy's eyes went wide, and he leaned forward as well, intrigued by what the answer might be. Alyssa grinned and leaned over and whispered something into his ear, which made him pull back and raise an eyebrow. "A what?" he snapped back – he was sure that he had heard Alyssa say the word 'crush,' but it seemed quite unfitting; it brought to mind the image of someone being trampled by horses, or getting trapped beneath a boulder. "That sounds horribly unpleasant."_

_"I'll bet it is," Alyssa nodded gravely – at that point, neither of them had consciously experienced a crush, and as such, the idea of sweaty palms and secrets and kathumping hearts seemed horribly uncomfortable. _

_Willy noted briefly that his heart had kathumped once or twice at least, but he was sure that it was because of something different. He very much enjoyed being around Alyssa, and this terrible thing called a crush was far from the way he wanted to think of his very best friend._

_"It's good you told me," Willy spoke up, his face looking quite serious. "I've never had a crush before, but if Billy O'Boyle has it, I sure don't want to have it too."_

* * *

Willy was suddenly pulled back to the present, shaking himself out of the nostalgic stupor he'd been sucked into, muttering to himself, "Whole lot of good _that_ conversation did. Caught it early and it still spread."

"What's spread?" came a female voice in the doorway to his office as he heard the sound of knuckles rapping against the side of the doorway. "Are you ill?" She had been a bit upset that Willy had missed their usual meeting in the Chocolate Room this morning, but if he wasn't feeling well, it was completely understandable that he would not want to be sick around the chocolate, not when it would be distributed to the world. It was silly to worry, Alyssa thought. 

Willy stood up straight and quite stiff, looking at Alyssa in the doorway – this stiff posture seemed to be his only reaction when he happened to unexpectedly have to see the woman. "No," he said shortly, putting on a pleasant but patronizing grin, much more out of propriety than pleasure. "No, I'm quite fine."

"Oh. Good," Alyssa nodded, still quite put off by his sudden change in attitude towards her. She still remembered very clearly that less than two days ago, this same Willy Wonka had been twirling her and kissing her and smiling at her so genuinely an mirthfully that anyone else would have found it disconcerting coming from a grown man. Writing it off to the stress of managing an entire factory, Alyssa cleared her throat and held up the roll of blueprint paper they'd drawn their project plans on. "We were just supposed to work on the –"

"Yes, yes Miss Cabot –" Willy began, yet even he wasn't quite so skilled in his façade-making as to be able to hide the grimace on his face when he recognized the crestfallen expression on her face. "_Alyssa_," he corrected himself before sense could advise him otherwise. "Just work on the plans. I'll have a look later. I'm terribly busy," he finished in a very business-like tone, gesturing vaguely toward the door.

Still looking very much surprised, Alyssa nodded with an equal amount of stiffness and turned out the door without another word, nearly bumping into Charlie on her way out. She turned the corner, but listened closely from the spot she stood in once she was out of sight.

"Charlie, my boy!" Willy said quite happily. "What's on the schedule for today?"

Busy my rear end, Alyssa thought, shaking her head slightly. She had heard so much disdain in his voice when she'd been in that office, and yet now, the man was as happy as a clam.

She stood outside the door for a good minute or two, mulling over Willy's very abrupt shift in demeanor towards her. Perhaps, she thought, she didn't love him after all, because it clearly and painfully evident that he felt nothing but severe distaste for her, and Alyssa was never one to pursue lost causes. She would she Willy again at supper tonight with the Buckets, and if he still made it clear that he considered her company to have become undesirable, she would give him what he _did_ want.

The day passed without incident, and Alyssa had changed into the white dress that had been laid out for her when she'd first had need of a change of clothes in the factory. She made her way to the Bucket family's home, and she made a very quiet entrance, much earlier than the announced time of dinner, not wanting to arrive in an awkward moment, mid-conversation with Willy and the family. They welcomed her warmly and offered her a seat, but instead, she walked over to the kitchen counters where Mrs. Bucket was preparing dinner – roast chicken, egg sandwiches, and even more that was still in the works. Alyssa gave a small smile as she watched Mrs. Bucket prepare the food – she'd never seen her own mother cook; they'd always had maids and cooks in their home.

"Alyssa dear," Mrs. Bucket said, turning and taking a brief break from her cooking to talk to the girl who was as close to a daughter as she would probably come. "I'm sorry we all caught you off guard the other day, asking you all those questions."

Alyssa smiled, shaking her head dismissively. "No, don't apologize," she said with a high, tinny laugh. "It's a good thing, really. I have a lot of thinking to do." She quickly made her way to the counter before anything else regarding _that conversation_ could be brought up. She made her way over to a bowl that had yet to be touched, with eggs, flour, cocoa, and a flurry of other baking supplies that she recognized to be for baking a cake. She smiled slightly, and walked over to get started with it. Mrs. Bucket made to stop her, but Alyssa merely smiled, shaking her head. "Nonsense, I want to help," she said warmly. "You're all like – like _family_ to me, so it's only fair," she pointed out.

Charlie's smile was noticeable, even from his seat at the dining table. He was glad that she felt at home here – while it was nice to have his family around, and his mentor there to work with him, Alyssa was very much one of his best friends, and the fact that she enjoyed being around them just as much was quite likely the best news he had receive for the entire day.

"Like family?" Charlie asked with a playful laugh. "You mean, our family's just like yours?"

Alyssa turned to face Charlie, cradling the mixing bowl in one hand and balancing it on her hip as she stirred with the other hand. "Not quite, Charlie," she laughed, tossing her head slightly to keep her hair out of her face. "They're not nearly as happy, nor are they as friendly. Can't say I talk to my parents much."

"You should go visit them one day," Charlie suggested plainly. "Or ask Mr. Wonka if they can come for a visit."

Alyssa sighed, pursing her lips slightly as she paused from her stirring to look up at Charlie, then at Mrs. Bucket as if asking permission to tell Charlie the truth – her eyes gave away that the truth was indeed anything but idyllic. The older woman gave a nod, and Alyssa looked back at Charlie. 

"They're very disappointed in me," she explained as kindly as she could, though even this statement made Charlie's jaw drop a bit, as though he couldn't imagine a family not standing by their child. Of course, she thought, he'd never been able to imagine it – his family genuinely loved him, so very much, and Alyssa could see it in every moment they spent together. "They're not happy that I left the research firm I used to work for, just to open the ice cream shop."

"But it's the best ice cream shop around," Charlie said, visibly trying to rationalize the situation for himself. "It's been in every single one of the papers, haven't they seen it?"

Alyssa gave as best a shrug she could while still balancing the bowl, her gaze now fixed yet again on her stirring. "Doubt it's good enough, I'm never on the front page," she said with a sad smile. Not sure she wanted to go into the subject further with Charlie, she went back to finish her mixing, and pouring the batter into the cake pan. After she'd finally gotten it into the oven and gotten cleaned up, she was about to strike up conversation with Mrs. Bucket again when there was the sound of the top of a cane tapping against the open door.

"Well, isn't this a bit gloomy?" Willy said with a smile as he entered, noting the silence. Charlie suddenly brightened up and ran over to greet him, while Alyssa quietly took a seat. There was a collective glance with all the members of the Bucket family, and within moments, as Grandpa Joe heartily told Willy to take a seat, the only chair left was the one next to Alyssa. 

He briefly noted that she looked extremely pretty – extremely _sweet_ – in that white dress, the one he'd picked especially for her. The fact that she looked so wonderfully pleasant made it that much more of an ordeal, having to be near her when Willy had all but sworn that he would go nowhere past a stiff politeness in speaking with her.

Dinner was surprisingly not too awkward – with all the conversation going on as was custom at Bucket family dinners. Alyssa even caught Willy off guard with another one of those perfect smiles as she passed him the platter of egg sandwiches, and he reciprocated in kind before he could remind himself that he ought not to. 

As meal was nearing its close, Mrs. Bucket walked over to the oven and opened the door – the room was filled with an amazing scent of chocolate and strawberries wafting from the cake pan. Charlie grinned at the scent, and glanced at Mr. Wonka – the boy was incredibly sure that once Mr. Wonka tasted the amazing cake Alyssa had made, he would recall just how brilliant she was, and indeed would be unable to resist how much he loved her.

Mrs. Bucket cut enough slices of the moist chocolate cake to serve to everyone at the table, and placed one down in front of Willy – Alyssa's eyes seemed riveted onto the plate in front of her.

Willy took a fork to the cake and placed a bite in his mouth. He beamed brightly, an expression which Alyssa caught out of the corner of her eye. It was indeed one of the most brilliant things he'd ever tasted that was made by anyone other than him. He looked up as Mrs. Bucket. "Well, I must say – Mrs. Bucket, did you make this?"

"Actually," she said with a knowing smile that was shared by everyone around the table save for Willy and the young woman next to him. "I didn't make it –"

"Alyssa did!" Charlie piped up excitedly, unable to help himself, for he knew very much what Willy Wonka ought to do now. "Isn't it great, Mr. Wonka?"

Willy froze slightly – it truly _was_. But he knew very well that he couldn't be so warm towards Alyssa, because propriety would not allow it. He took his fork and took another small bite, allowing the smile to fall away from his face.

"_Passable_." He muttered. 

Alyssa went quite red, and she felt the entire Bucket family glance at her collectively as her jaw stiffened slightly – Charlie himself looked quite hurt by Willy's statement, as it was the exact opposite of how he had seen this night going. Alyssa did _not_ cry, as it was something she had always felt that strong woman should not do. However, her mind was made up as to what had to be done now. She picked up her napkin from her lap, dabbed at her mouth, and made for the door, muttering "Excuse me," but not making eye contact with anyone.

As soon as she was out of sight, Willy clucked his tongue. "Quite a touchy girl," he said. Mrs. Bucket merely shook her head, Grandpa Joe gave a quick but direct glare, and Charlie excused himself as well to go to bed.

* * *

_A/N's_

_Eek, I had an oddly hard time writing this chapter - though I actually like the events that take place in it. It's not so long, at least not as long s a proper chapter ought to be. I'll try to divide my chapters more evenly next time, hee! Anyway, I'm glad I still have loyal reviewers, and that my characterizations aren't too atrocious. I hope my mean-Willy doesn't rub you the wrong way this chapter, he won't stay this way forever, promise!_

_Hope you'll all still be around for my next update! Can't tell you exactly·hen it's going to be, but hopefully, you'll be able to look for it within the next week. I'm on a roll again, hopefully I don't hit another brick wall. My schedule's finally clearing up a bit and allowing me to write some more. I'm taking pre-nursing classes in college right now, so I spend a great deal of time trying to memorize medical terms and chemicals and whatnot, but I'll always come back to my favorite chocolatier. _

_Cheers!_


	13. Chapter 13

The morning was a bright one in which the sun shone pleasantly through the front windows of the Wonka factory. The Oompa Loompas hoisted and hummed away in the Chocolate Room, Mrs. Bucket was preparing a wondrous breakfast, and all went on as it usually did.

…save for the fact that Alyssa was striding toward the front door with her small bag packed with the few things she felt compelled to bring _home_ with her. She had just reached the threshold of the factory, and her hand was poised to push the door open when two smaller hands clasped around her forearm, yanking her backwards. She looked questioningly down at Charlie and sighed, realizing that her plans on an anticlimactic and clandestine exit were now completely foiled. She briefly found herself wishing that she wasn't such a loving boy, that he didn't care so genuinely for people – the fact that he cared so much made her departure that much more difficult.

"Why are you _leaving_?" he asked, giving her arm a firm shake, and Alyssa winced not out of physical discomfort, for Charlie was far too gentle a boy to cause her much damage, but out of guilt for the fact that she had intended upon leaving without explaining to him, when he'd been so kind and welcoming.

"I think I've overstayed my welcome here," she said with a weak smile, noticing that Willy had followed Charlie to the entryway, but remained a good distance back, tipping his hat over his face and leaning a bit on his cane. She cleared her throat and looked at Willy, putting a very stiff smile on her own face, much like the smile she had used when she'd worked in that overblown office, and much like the smiles she had recently been receiving from _him_. "Thank you, Mr. Wonka, _very_ much." 

Alyssa turned back to Charlie and gave his hair an affectionate ruffle and flashing him a small smile in hopes that the small boy would understand eventually, even if not at the moment. "Charlie, give my regards to your family, won't you?"

But Charlie did not respond to her request. Instead, he tightened his hold on her arm, then looked up at Mr. Wonka, eyes wild with expectations of the man he considered his mentor. "You're not going to stop her, Mr. Wonka?" he asked desperately.

Willy merely clicked his tongue, giving his cane a quick twirl as he shook his head. "Now, my dear boy, why would I do such a thing?" Charlie looked at Willy as though he had just caused the entire world to collapse, and yet, he continued. "We have our freedom here, Charlie. I would never dream –" he gave a poignant glance toward Alyssa, "—of denying Miss Cabot hers."

Charlie's eyes narrowed slightly, mouth slightly open in shock at how little Willy was pretending to care when Charlie knew – absolutely _knew­_ – that Willy loved her. And Alyssa was leaving, giving up when she had already admitted that she loved him as well, that she loved Charlie and his family – the young boy was on the brink of tears, and Alyssa's face betrayed her guilt at the distress Charlie was feeling. Willy's did not.

"You're a couple of lunkheads, _both of you_!" Charlie said loudly, his voice echoing off of the walls of the hallway. "Mr. Wonka, you're just going to stomp around and bark at me and at the Oompa Loompas, like you did the first time she left!"

Alyssa's head shot up, a look of uninhibited surprised registering on her soft features as she locked eyes with Willy, who looked torn between outrage and denial. They briefly looked at one another, but painfully tore their gaze away to separate spots on the carpeted floor. A look of hope had crossed Charlie's face, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

"You still have a coat hanging in the coat room," Charlie said sadly, giving Alyssa's arm another tug, much weaker than earlier, and out of guilt, she obliged as she allowed herself to be led to the coat room, with Willy following behind her. Alyssa walked over to the coat hooks and looked around, pursing her lips. "I don't see a –"

Alyssa's statement cut off with a yelp as she heard Charlie give a sharp whistle and felt herself being seized by a few pairs of Oompa-Loompa sized hands, and yanked along like a limp rug until she found herself and Willy Wonka locked in the familiar Escher-esque checkerboard walls of the Changing Room. The quiet clicking signaled that Charlie had locked the door.

Alyssa looked over at Willy as though she expected him to pull out his own keys, but he merely shrugged and looked away. Groaning, she stood up and began banging very unceremoniously on the door.

"This is for your own good," Charlie said resolutely, and it appeared that he and the Oompa Loompas that had assisted him had walked away. 

"I've heard that a few times in my life," Alyssa muttered as she grabbed a hold of the doorknob and began shaking it ungraciously. "Never turned out _for my own good_." She wheeled around and crossed her arms, looking at Willy and raising an eyebrow, expecting him to want to get out of this room, even if only for the sake of getting back to the work he was obviously missing by being there. With her.

"You're the only one who's hurrying so horribly to leave," he said nonchalantly, picking a bit of lint off of his sleeve, retaining that coy cam that had proven lately to be incredibly infuriating. "I'm in no rush at all."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Alyssa crossed her arms and took a few hesitant paces in Willy's direction. "Then _maybe_," she said in a vehement near-hiss, "you can explain to me what's going on, since we've obviously so much time to spare."

"Certainly, dearest," Willy said with a taunting, sardonic hint of a grin. "It appears that Charlie has tricked us both and we've been locked in the Changing Room –"

"Don't give me that, Willy," she snapped, interrupting him and knowing full well that he did not at all enjoy being interrupted. His eyebrows rose slightly to show he had taken offence, and this time, there was no playful chiding on his part to compel Alyssa to let him finish. "You know, if you were going to just – well, I have _my_ shop, which I assume you conveniently forgot you spirited me away from."

"Then why _ever_ did you come?"

"_Why did you even bring me_?"

Willy pause, unable to find a witty and benign response to her question that would not incriminate him for his real reasons – there was no such answer, and being forced into such close quarters with this woman only made that even more excruciatingly clear.

"Why do you _believe_ I brought you?" he asked, feeling a strange, seldom-felt pang of guilt rising in his chest. The last time he recalled truly feeling _guilt_ was for a brief moment nearly a year ago, when Charlie himself had placed the Everlasting Gobstopper on his desk after all of the horrible things Willy had said…

Alyssa paused, throwing an answer out. "Because you have the best ideas while under the influence of endorphins and kissing produces them by the ton," she supplied carelessly, and had she even been able to look at Willy right now, she perhaps would have been able to see a brief flash of hurt on Willy's face at the thought of Alyssa feeling that she had only been brought here for _that_ reason.

"Kissing produces endorphins," Willy repeated with a weak chuckle, standing up off of the ground. "Well, so does chocolate – it's in far greater supply, and is far less confusing."

"Confusing?" Alyssa asked, brow furrowing – truth was that both she and Willy were surprised at the fact that he had admitted to not understanding something in this world, in _his_ world.

"You're not at all a normal woman," Willy said simply, admitting to what he'd been thinking for a good while, the way one gives up when backed into a corner. "Women ought to cry, it's what their best at," he said simply. Lord knew that if he felt that he knew how to do so, the sheer emotional force of these past few days would have reduced him or any man to tears, and yet here stood the woman he felt was everything sweet and soft and feminine, standing completely stoic and nigh untouched by any emotion at all, save for a bit of mild annoyance.

"Well, I haven't anything to cry about," she said stiffly, and the two merely stared, finding no more words appropriate to share at the moment. Alyssa turned around and faced the door, but made no move to open it again, and Willy felt a strange urge to at least tell her something that bore a resemblance to the whole truth,

"Charlie seems to be under the impression," he said in a low voice, "that we are in love with one another."

Alyssa inhaled sharply, shutting her eyes and clenching her fists, but eventually managed to regain her composure. "It's absolutely ridiculous," she said with a weak laugh. Of course Willy wouldn't love her; of course it was Charlie's imagination running away with him. Willy Wonka had no time to fall in love when he had a factory to run, it was absurd.

"Ridiculous." Willy nodded in apparent agreement, seemingly unfazed. "Yes, it is." Alyssa's fist clenched briefly.

"Well, aren't you going to open this door?" she said impatiently, and it was evident that her teeth were clenched tightly.

"Locked," Willy replied in a nonchalant, sing-song voice, eyebrows raised tauntingly. He refused to acknowledge the unhappiness in Alyssa's face; acknowledging it would evoke sympathy, and sympathy in this situation would evoke a feel that was far more complicating.

"I'm not that dull," she said in annoyance, storming a few steps closer to Willy. She wasn't so much angry that he was being stubborn and taunting, as she would not have expected him any other way, but it absolutely infuriated her that he was going out of his way to impede upon her ability to go _home_ when it was obvious she was not wanted here in the first place. "I know you keep your keys –"

"You _won't_ end up back in the Coat Room. _You_ know that," Willy chuckled mischievously. He knew his factory, he knew its rooms, and most of all, he knew that it worked as much under its own will at times as it did his.

Alyssa, however, did not possess quite the same insight. "You told me that this room would take me _where I was supposed to go_," she said, repeating something that Willy had explained to her on one of their walks.

"That being said," Willy said with a wry smile, "Neither of us knows where we're _supposed_ to be going. Charlie's the one who opened the door, so naturally, he knows where we ought to be going in it."

"Charlie's not here, you nit!"

"Well spotted," Willy smirked. "Then I suppose that without any direction, it'll need to decide for itself."

"_It_?" Alyssa asked, brow furrowing as one side of her lip quirked in confusion. 

"The room, of course," Willy said, brandishing his keys with a flourish and striding past Alyssa toward the door. Alyssa merely rolled her eyes, and as Willy clicked the key, she nudged past him and pushed open the door, but did so a bit too vigorously and tripped into the darkness into which the door opened. In order to steady herself, she reached out and took a firm hold onto the sleeve of Willy's coat, sending him tripping along with her, and on the way down, one of their feet managed to kick the door back to the Changing Room closed, submerging both of them in darkness.

"Where are we?" Alyssa snapped, pushing Willy off of her, unable to see their surroundings. She very much just wanted to get away from Willy and his confusing, illogical ways, and yet because she'd hesitated to walk out the door, here she was.

"A coat closet, I'd wager," he replied, and by the volume of his voice, Alyssa could tell that he had stood up. 

"I thought that's what the coat room was for," Alyssa pointed out before she could stop herself, and Willy gave a slight chuckle at the childish curiosity in her voice.

"Yes, well, these are spares," he said matter-of-factly – the sound of his voice showed that he was moving, probably feeling around for the doorknob; Alyssa quickly followed his lead.

As she carefully got to her feet, smoothing out her skirt as she did so, the humor of the situation hit her, much to her own chagrin. She did not at all want to smile, or to laugh, or to give any sign that she felt anything but indifference towards Willy. Still, the most delightfully humorous bit was the location.

"Is this how you felt before we first met?" Alyssa asked, her small laugh echoing slightly because of the acoustics of the room to such an extent that it seemed to surround Willy, to engulf him inescapably. That laugh, he thought, no doubt accompanied by that smile that Willy was glad he did not have to see, for if he did, his valiant attempt to remain indifferent would be damned. "I don't much enjoy being in a closet,"Alyssa added lightheartedly, followed by the slight thud of her palm tapping on the walls.

A strange prickle arose at the back of Alyssa's neck when Willy laughed as well – these past two days, she hadn't gotten so much as a genuine smile from him, let alone a laugh, even a forced one. Perhaps that's why it had been so easy to convince herself that she did not love him, because he had not been acting like the Willy she secretly loved anyway.

"I believe I was of a far more appropriate size back then to be rollicking through coat closets," he said wryly. Alyssa turned around toward the sound of his voice and would have had something else witty to say had she not been met with coarse fabric pressed against her face.

"Willy," she grumbled in a muffled voice as she realized that his chest was positioned right over her face as he continued knocking and groping at the wall she was leaning against. She couldn't help but note the disparities in their height now, even worse in adulthood than it had been in their youth. "You're suffocating me, Willy," she insisted.

"Yes, well," Willy supplied casually as he continued to keep knocking at the walls – this was all intentional, all meant to be proof to Alyssa that she didn't affect him at all. She was as good as a lollipop tree in the chocolate room, a machine in the inventing room, he thought. He failed to note that comparing her to these _things_ made his argument all the more fallacious, for to him they were more than just _things_. They were his life, his meaning, his world. "What do you prefer? Oxygen, or a way out?"

"Both would be nice," Alyssa said, managing to wriggle away and scoot to the side. She gave a slight yelp as something jabbed into the small of her back, and she realized she had fallen back upon the elusive doorknob they'd both been hunting and scouring the entire closet for. She turned and opened the door, letting light peek into the closet – she and Willy both squinted to adjust. Alyssa stepped into the Changing Room and motioned for Willy to follow. His face held an expression strangely akin, in Alyssa's eyes, to disappointment, but she discounted it as a remnant of wishful thinking that she had not managed to get rid of.

Willy's heels clicked against the floor as he stepped into the Changing Room, closing the door behind him, and suddenly, now that they could see one another plainly, the silence and stiffness settled over them again.

Alyssa inhaled, then began walking forward, and a strange forgotten closet in Willy's heart began to _kathump-kathump_, as he began to feel, to _know_ that she was walking towards him.

And it felt as though he his heart had been dunked into the deepest, coldest ocean when she walked past him and placed her hand on the doorknob again, and he realized that she wanted nothing more than to get away from here – from _him_. He had wanted to hide away from her because he feared what she had said she felt for him – but now that she felt _nothing_, there was nothing to fear, and nothing to make him want her gone.

Sensing the awkward silence, Alyssa muttered quietly under her breath, "I need to go, Willy. I have responsibilities." He had to understand, she thought, that the both of them were adults, and they couldn't keep pretending otherwise. This was the way adults had to be, the sort of choices adults had to make.

"Same old Alyssa," Willy said, and Alyssa could tell without even turning to look that his face donned a smile that was quite unfitting for the situation. "Never coming and always going. Always running."

Alyssa winced slightly, clenching her eyes shut lest they do something forbidden. The childish idealist she wanted so badly to suppress was screaming out for Willy to ask her to stay, and that same child inside her knew that a very clandestine part of Willy was calling out for her not to leave. A part of Alyssa Cabot – a very large part – could tell that somewhere below the surface, he _did_ love her. He _had_ to love her. Being an adult, being responsible, damn it all to hell if he would just say what she knew he wanted to – and yet he would not.

"I don't think I'm the one who's running away from something," she said in a wavering voice, taking her hand off of the doorknob and hanging her head slightly.

Willy gave a breath, inhaling with a slight hiss. He'd _never_ been confronted like this, not since Grandpa Joe had called him an _inhuman monster_. That, he had dealt with. That was direct. That was an accusation he could be sufficiently angry at, because it was untrue, because Grandpa Joe did not understand. But he could not deny now that there was something he was running from, and he could not deny that he had been running so constantly, just as constantly as she had.

"Thou tellest of running a race to a man whose knees are tottering beneath him," he said plainly, so plainly that Alyssa could hardly believe it. She turned around with wild, curious eyes, and perhaps for the first time since they were children, she really _saw_ him. She saw that it was not that he did not feel, but that he did not understand, and that for all this time, it had confused him, worn him much in the way it had worn her. "There is not the strength or courage left me to venture into the wide, strange, difficult world alone."

Indeed, this world they were wandering into by admitting these things was strange and difficult, much more so than the world they had been trying to hide themselves in.

Alyssa slowly managed to part her lips, though she was nearly gasping for air, and she took a few steps towards Willy, placing her small hand on his forearm. So it had all been for naught – the denying, the secrets, this entire ordeal. He was afraid as she was, and as the smile she'd only hoped still existed began to crawl on her face as her response slipped past her lips as well.

"_Thou shalt not go alone._" (1)

After a good bit of staring, Willy placed a hand on her cheek and leaned forward and planted a lingering kiss on her lips – in that brief moment, he came to very much the same realization that she had: they were both treading uncharted waters, dangerous waters, but if they faced them alone, they would surely drown. 

Alyssa had very much forgotten for the moment that the door to her freedom, back home to her shop, was right behind her. The kiss was far from cinematic or well-choreographed – their posture was awkward, one of Alyssa's hands was still hanging at her side, and the hand Willy had not placed on her face had closed around her wrist – and yet this was what made it so wonderful. It was sweet, and plain…

…and simple.

This last thought was what broadened Willy's smile when he pulled back to look at the little nymph standing in front of him, and the surprised smile on her face made her look sufficiently starry-eyed and childlike. "It's a little bit wonderful, being in love with someone who's as much of a lexicon for good literature as I am."

Alyssa laughed mirthfully, eyes nearly completely shut as she pulled herself close to Willy, and he slowly, hesitantly placed his around her tiny frame, grinning as well. "It's going to be hopelessly impossible to be rid of me now."

"Of course," Willy laughed knowingly, placing an affectionate kiss at the top of her head. At this simple response, Alyssa looked up, pursing her lips in a playful pout.

"You act as if you know everything I'm going to say before I even say it," she responded with a smirk. 

Willy clucked his tongue, shaking his head. "Well, this is my factory – I think I'm entitled to know all the goings-on in it."

"Then how on earth did you not know I was in love with you?" she asked playfully, raising an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her hips, looking up at Willy. He merely grinned impishly and taking his hands in hers, pulling her back towards him.

"Just because I've the right to know everything doesn't mean I've the presence of mind to do so," he said with an obliging nod. He nodded, toward the small bag that Alyssa had dropped into the corner, and she peeked in the direction he indicated. "Now, I'd be a very happy man if you'd stop looking so unsettled and settle back in."

Alyssa's smile grew a bit watery, and she took a step backwards, looking at her shoe, sighing. Even in this moment of bliss and epiphany, a tiny shadow crept in. "I'll have to go back eventually, you know," she said somewhat weakly, and slowly, all of the reasons she had considered leaving in the first place began to creep back into her mind. However, Willy reached out and tilted her chin up, and the tiny shadows of doubt seemed to run and hide, as though Willy and everything he was happened to be all she needed to conquer the limits she'd placed on herself for her entire life. Willy was light, and happiness.

And freedom.

"But eventually," he said softly, "is not today." The adult thing to do would have been to figure out what would become of their work, and of Alyssa's shoppe while she was absent fo so long. The adult thing to do would have been to sit calmly and decide what a relationship would entail if they chose to pursue it. The concern now, however, was not being adult. Willy Wonka and Alyssa cared about cake fountains and smiles and frivolous ideas. Nothing else mattered. Not now.

Silently outside, Charlie grinned with his ear pressed to the door, pumping his fist victoriously. He ran off to go tell his family – _finally_ they'd gotten some sense into their heads.

* * *

Scoopreme Sundaes on Delaney Street had closed to customers early for the day, as co-owner Shannen O'Shaughnessy had set up a very crucial meeting in Miss Cabot's absence. Kellie, their most faithful eight-year-old patron, had protested and wanted to know why she couldn't stay and listen to music in the shop like she always did after school. Shay merely shooed her out, dusted everything off impeccably, and sat at the counter. 

The bell above the door tinkled as a very professional-looking man stepped him, dressed oddly considering the setting. A three-piece suit was out of place in an ice cream shop – the man was handsome in an almost abrasive sort of way, with shrewd, sharp features and a smile that constantly held a canine quality, indicative of his ambition like a ravenous wolf.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Calloway," Shay said politely, gesturing to the stool next to her. 

"Cullen, please. First name's Cullen," he grinned, taking a seat and good look around what he already knew to be the most successful privately owned ice cream shoppe within a day's drive from here. He was indeed _pleased_ to be here.

"Cullen, then," she nodded. "I'm assuming you received my message."

"Yes, and I'm quite glad I did, too," he nodded charmingly, and it was evident that Shay was sold on him before they even negotiated anything at all. "You should be receiving your first shipment within the next day or so."

"Good," Shay nodded, eyes darting around a bit as though she felt that Alyssa was still there to hear this conversation. "Thank you."

Cullen noticed her discomfort and could tell already that it stemmed somehow from the fact that her partner was not present for the closing of this deal. "I must be so preoccupied in my chocolatiering," he said, persisting with his nonchalant grin. "For the time I can recall, this shop was owned by a young woman who used to work for –"

"Allied Sciences and Engineering," Shay nodded uncomfortably, almost visibly squirming at this point. "That would be Alyssa Cabot. She's out of town currently; I'm merely here to keep business going."

"Ah," Cullen nodded, looking up at a photo behind the counter at the photo of Shay and the woman he presumed to be Miss Cabot. She was certainly a vision – a successful, ambitious vision - and now she was as good as his pawn. "I believed Miss Cabot to be a devout Wonka loyalist," he said with a sidelong glance in Shay's direction. Shay had to struggle to keep the pain from showing on her face, and her betrayal of her best friend and business partner became all the more poignant.

"Sacrifices need to be made for the sake of good business," she said squeamishly. "She'll understand," she said, attempting to justify the situation for herself more than to Cullen Calloway; the latter was wholly unnecessary. "Your chocolate has something that Wonka's doesn't."

A wry smile curled at Cullen's lips at this final statement, and he nodded distantly. "Indeed it does," he said smugly, then pulled a neatly folded set of carbon-paper copies out of his pocket, placing it on the counter and brandishing a pen in Shay's direction. "Standard procedure – just for the sake of good business," he said. Shay could not refuse, and she signed on the dotted line. Cullen briskly yanked the yellow bottom copy, handed it to Shay, and stood up. "Good day, miss. And I expect this _Wonka garbage_ to be out of this shoppe by morning," he said, tipping his fedora in Shay's direction as he strode out the door with a satisfied, incredibly indulgent grin. 

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne_

_A lot going on in this chapter, hee!We've got the truth out between Willy and Lyssa, but whether they would consider it a relationship, and if a relationship can actually be made between the two of them is yet to be seen. Plus, Shay has gone and complicated things a whole buttload - don't ruin the surprise for Alyssa, eh? I think it goes without saying that you should keep your eye on Cullen Calloway._

_Cheers for now!_


	14. Chapter 14

Business was booming at Scoopreme Sundaes.

Not only was the brightly colored parlor filled with its usual gradeschool patrons ordering double-scoop sundaes, but the bell above the door tinkled nonstop with the constant flow of teenage couples sharing milkshakes, and adults ordering a cone or two for nostalgia's sake. The milkman stopped by for a cone, the mail carrier stopped by for a gallon to bring home to his wife, and even a few men clad in three-piece suits stopped by for a cone, though they dipped in and out, hoping not to be seen. All shared one common reason for being there.

The previous morning, Shay had placed a poster in the window with a Calloway logo blown up in gaudy green and white lettering, contrasted against a steel grey background, and ever since, the flow of customers had been so steady that Shay was hardly able to close the doors at the appointed time. This poster caught the eye of a certain eight-year-old girl on her way home from school, and she shoved the door opened vehemently, stomping up to the counter to one of her classmates who sat munching on a chocolate bar. She wordlessly snatched it from his hands and unfolded the wrapper to see the same Calloway logo on it.

"What are you eating this for?" Kellie asked, tossing it carelessly over her shoulder and barely missing the dog that belonged to a rather pudgy woman ordering two gallons of ice creams. "You told me at school that they tasted like wax paper!"

The boy snatched back his candy bar after he jumped off of the stool. "Well, my mum and dad bought a lot," he shrugged carelessly as he took another bite from it, and he began walking towards the door, through which Kellie saw his parents waiting in their car to pick him up. "We just can't stop eating them!" he explained with a grin and a shrug. "We have a whole case at home."

"But how 'bout Wonka bars?" Kellie asked, looking incredibly affronted and storming after the boy. A whole case? Surely she'd misheard that - no one changed their minds so quickly over something they had been absolutely mad about just days prior without a good reason. "They're your favorite!"

"Not anymore – I like Calloways," the boy said with a grin, chocolate smudged over the fronts of his teeth. He looked down at his chocolate bar and held it out in Kellie's direction. "This one's a Choco Mocha Charger, try it!"

Kellie narrowed her pretty little eyes and smacked it clean out of the boy's hands yet again, and this time, it landed on the ground by the counter. "No way!" 

The boy pursed his lips and muttered something about drama queens before directly addressing Kellie again, saying, "Well, I like them."

"Well, then you can try this new flavor," Shay said with a saccharine grin as she came out of the back room clad in her apron with an ice cream cone in each hand. "Here, both of you – it's called Bait-and-Tackle Brownie."

"I hate it!" Kellie squealed, not even accepting the ice cream from Shay – Kellie very much cared about Alyssa, and anything that Alyssa cared about was Kellie's concern as well; Kellie knew very well that Alyssa cared and Willy Wonka, even at eight years old she could tell from the stories Alyssa told about their old school, and the great fun they used to have. Kellie didn't at all understand what made what Shay had done _alright_ by any means. That, and even at her young age, she was suspicious of any candy that utilized fishing analogies. 

The young girl's thoughts were interrupted by the television blaring with loud, elevator-esque music, and she looked up to see the commercial playing...

_A gaggle of school children swarmed the shelves of a candy store, pushing and shoving to try and get their hands on whatever was on display. One girl held up her fist and yelled, "I got it!"_

_The screen cut to Cullen Calloway's handsome, toothy grin, looking directly at the camera with the swarming children still in the background. "We don't need Golden Tickets to keep them coming," he stated with a haughty wink. The girl from earlier ran up to Calloway and tugged on his sleeve, jumping restlessly to get his attention,_

_"What is it about Calloway Chocolates that we can't get enough of?" she asked in an overly chirpy voice. Calloway patted the girl patronizingly on the head and knelt down to look at her from eye-level._

_"Magic, my dear girl. Magic."_

* * *

Cullen Calloway was having a lunch with a potential _business partner_ – very leggy, very blonde, and very young. It was the nicest restaurant in the area, and this business conversation had taken a very personal turn. The two were sitting very close to one another and he was about to order the woman another martini and swoop in for the kill when his personal assistant came trotting into the restaurant.

"Mr. Calloway, you're needed in research and development," she said. Cullen looked at his potential business partner and flashed her a smile in apology before following his assistant up the block to the large, ornate brick building that housed the entire Calloway Chocolate operation.

"This had better be _very_ good." Cullen said shortly as he and his assistant boarded the elevator to the research department in the basement. The halls were cold and sterile here – anyone who was familiar with the Wonka factory would have been surprised to find that the two men were in the same business: Willy with his indulgent velvet coats, his lickable wallpaper, his Oompa Loompas, Cullen with his stark grey suit, his stone walls, his equally grey assistant.

The assistant unlocked the door to another room which was filled with equally colorless beakers and boilers, leading Cullen over to a particular boiler with the label "_hot cocoa_" across the front. "The new product does not seem to be working."

Cullen peered down into the beaker at the thick brown liquid and raised an eyebrow, squinting a bit as though he was not quite sure what he was looking for. "It looks perfectly fine."

"It's missing one ingredient," the assistant added, and at that, Cullen stood ramrod straight and turned around questioningly. The assistant obligingly pulled out another beaker, this one containing the same brown liquid, except there was something notably different about this batch, something obviously botched. Floating above the viscous cocoa in the beaker was a thin layer of livid green liquid, the only sprinkling of color in the entire room.

Cullen's eyes narrowed dangerously, as though someone had just brandished a knife towards him and he was ready to defend himself, by any means necessary.

"The final ingredient does not remain emulsified when heated," the assistant said stonily, and Cullen Calloway gave a stiff nod. This was a pitfall, a pitfall indeed, but he would have to do very little to remedy this situation. He would merely make quite sure that this little slip-up in the stark walls of the factory would never be uncovered.

"Scrap the idea," he said plainly, adjusting his plain black tie, eyes cold and unwavering although a strange, tight smile curled at the corners of his mouth. "A magician _must_ have his secrets."

* * *

The sun had not yet risen over the Wonka factory, and the cool breeze of early morning blew in through the small opening of Alyssa's window. She slept best that way, with a bit of cold to wake her up properly in the mornings. However, this was not quite the hour she was accustomed to rising.

It came as a surprise then that Willy chose this very time to push open the door to her suite, and place a hand gently on her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake.

"Alyssa?" he said, the smile evident on his voice. The woman sleeping in front of him stirred slightly, and her eyes opened slowly. She looked up at Willy questioningly as she pushed herself up onto her forearms. "Alyssa, come with me – I've got something new. You'll just _love_ it."

Alyssa gave her large brown eyes a few sleepy blinks, then squinted to get a look at the clock. "Willy, how can a person love _anything_ at this hour?" she asked with a small yawn. "It's four in the morning."

"Even better," Willy said with a knowing, teasing grin as he took Alyssa's hand and gave her a slight tug, coaxing her to stand up. "It's best when the lighting's _just_ perfect."

Alyssa obliged, standing up and following Willy out of the room. She was ready to follow him and keep a good look out for where they were heading, but once they reached the hallway, Willy stopped walking, and Alyssa found herself with a blindfold being tied gently over her eyes. Once Willy was assured that Alyssa could see absolutely nothing, he stood behind Alyssa and placed his hand on her shoulders, guiding her steps to wherever they were headed.

They were walking for what felt like nearly twenty minutes, and Alyssa could tell that they took a short ride on the Wonkavator. She tried a few times to ask Willy where they were going, but he'd merely shush her with a small laugh. 

Alyssa heard a door creak, and after Willy guided her inside, she heard it shut again behind them. She was greeted by a rush of cold air, and a very clean, crisp smell. "What's going on?" she asked curiously, sure that she felt something wet on her face, something like rain. "Willy, it's freezing – did you take me outside?"

"Of course it's freezing," Willy chuckled jovially, his hand still resting on her shoulder, while the other lingered at the knot on her blindfold, ready to untie it. "We wouldn't want them to melt. Now, on my count. _One_ –"

"Willy, I'm terrible with surprises, I really am –"

"_Two_ –"

"I don't like not being able to see where I'm going –"

"_Three – open_." Willy said calmly, and gently pulled the blindfold off from over Alyssa's eyes. He relished in the amazed look on her face as she glanced around. It appeared that they were in a glass-ceilinged room on the roof, a room that appeared to be filled with snow. "Sugar snowflakes," Willy supplied before Alyssa even had to ask – he seemed quite smug, and appropriately so, as it appeared that his plan for Alyssa had come quite beautifully to fruition. And speaking of fruits —

"They're cherry-flavoured," Willy added, though it hardly seemed necessary, as Alyssa was barely listening out of amazement. He found himself musing silently how much she seemed enthralled by snow, as though she had never seen it before. She was so intently focused on her incessant and wonderfully frivolous twirling about, he could have said they were spinach flavored, and it hardly would have mattered. He was fascinated by her fascination, enthralled by her enthrallment, delighted by her delight – for so long, he had been sure that letting one into his factory, his sanctum, and his home would do nothing but ruin him. Somehow, after Charlie, his family, and now Alyssa Cabot, it seemed that perhaps the outside world still held a modicum of hope and happiness.

On impulse, Alyssa grinned, tilted her head back, and stuck out her tongue. "They're delicious!" she said with a delightful giggle – Willy found that he would have expected such a sound to come from a small Alyssa in an Oscar Jarvis uniform, and while anyone else would have found it quite strange coming from a grown woman, for Willy this was very much the Alyssa he had hoped to meet. He stepped forward and caught her gently by the hand, giving her a spin then pressing his lips to hers, which her now a bit cold and tasted faintly of cherries.

"Indeed," he said with a sly grin.

"I should have guessed you'd be so charming," Alyssa said with a quiet laugh, her cheeks tingeing slightly, the sight of which only caused Willy a bit more delight.

"Yes, you should have," Willy laughed, pulling off his coat and slipping it onto Alyssa's shoulders as he noticed she was a bit cold, having come out in her nighthings. "But I don't begrudge you for being pleasantly surprised."

"Won't it be terribly sticky when they melt?" she asked curiously, suddenly enraptured once again by the snow, picking a bit up in her hands, then throwing it up in the air. Willy grinned – a matter of days ago, he had thrown himself into work, very much convinced that the girl he saw before him no longer existed, that she had been lost to a world of mundane colors, of locks that played no music, of _adults_.

"They melt just like ice," he supplied, amusement glimmering in his eyes when she finally paused in her spinning to turn and face him. He noticed that she tiptoed when she walked, and he chuckled, shaking his head. "You needn't be so careful, I'm only testing them."

"Shouldn't we wake Charlie?" she asked, noticing that instead of near-pitch black, the sky had started to shift to a grand shade of royal blue. She sat on the ground and looked up at the sky, and Willy followed suit, placing an arm around her.

"This is his idea – he very much wanted me to show you," he said softly, speaking in a lulling whisper almost directly in her ear.

"He's a very sweet boy," Alyssa nodded with a smile, leaning her head back onto Willy's shoulder. He chuckled, and Alyssa couldn't help but nestle slightly into the soothing, vibration motion near his throat, and the warmth that resided there.

"Indeed he is, I'll have to thank him one day. I don't know what I'd do without him," Willy said, pleasantly surprised by the fact that Alyssa seemed so tantalizingly youthful right now. Looking up at the sky, he grinned at noted that the time was finally perfect. "Now shush," he laughed, "you'll miss the absolute best part."

Just then, a tinge of deep orange began to seep over the horizon, and Alyssa leaned more cozily into Willy's arms as they watched the sun rise. Gradually, Alyssa's tiny form grew heavier and heavier, until Willy was reasonably sure she had fallen asleep, just as the sun reached a point in the sky where the dark blue had completely vanished. He looked at the way the first light of day reflected off of her slightly damp hair, and how small she seemed while she was engulfed in his coat.

Things had gone back to exactly how they ought to be, Willy thought with a grin, and this time he had a very good feeling that nothing would interfere.

* * *

_A/N's_

_Forgive me for throwing in a whole scene of pure fluff for Willy and Alyssa. Believe me, they deserve it, both for what I've already put them through, and what I'm about to put them through in the coming chapters. I actually do have the whole thing more or less planned out, so hopefully it tickles your fancy._

_Sorry if I bored any of you at all by straying from Willy and Alyssa for more than half of this chapter. I assure you, there's a method to my madness._

_I think I feel like taking a moment to talk about my choice to use WilderWonka instead of DeppWonka. Now, I myself am an immense Johnny Depp fangirl, but I think that in a lot of instances, most of the allure behind DeppWonka is merely the fact that it's Johnny Depp behind the wig and pasty makeup. I simply enjoy the fact that WilderWonka is so multifaceted – he can pull off the role of a genius/social recluse, and I imagine that someone that successful would need to be a bit more charming and insightful. I guess I find WilderWonka a lot more believable, and hence, I have a much stronger drive to write him._

_Also, now that I have a bit more time on my hands with Spring Break and all, I'll take the time to show some appreciation for some of my readers._

_First of all, __**Yva J.**__, has given me an amazing amount of constructive criticism, especially in pointing out the points where my fingers were a bit quick and I never caught my typos. I'm immensely glad you thought the last chapter was the best so far, I really liked writing it. Also, to __**sparrowed**__, for always being so faithful and enthusiastic in reviewing this story, and for always rooting for Willy & Alyssa. I'm sure they'd appreciate it, hee! Also, to my newest reviewer, __**Ox King**__, for reviewing and making your presence known. It's nice being able to match a name of some sorts to the hit count on the story, so if you're reading, please drop a review! Really. Hee! Thanks!_

_Cheers!_


	15. Chapter 15

Alyssa was pacing in circles around the miniature model that the Oompa Loompas were working on, while Willy watched her in amusement. Her lips were pursed in concentration, and she paused, looking at the prototype of the fountain she and Willy had been planning only on paper until this point. Now that a model of it was actually being built, it just didn't seem quite the same as the one they'd been drawing. She'd been at this all day, and had barely spoken a word; at this point, she'd nearly worn a hole in the floor of the Inventing Room, and the persnickety, scrutinizing expression on her face seemed all but stuck.

"I don't know, Willy," she said, crossing her arms and wrinkling her forehead a bit, rotating her head to one side as though a different angle would make things any clearer. "It just doesn't seem quite right."

"How so?" Willy asked, though he was humoring her more than anything – he was a chocolatier, not a baker, and to him, the fountain looked completely fine.

"I don't know, exactly," she said, now turning her head in the other direction, which served no purpose except to make it appear upside down, compared to how it had looked to her moments earlier. "It just doesn't seem quite the way I pictured it." And she had pictured it quite a few times – this project had become more important to her than any new flavor of ice cream she came up with at Scoopreme Sundaes.

Willy crossed his arms, mirroring her posture and clucking his tongue obligingly. "Well," he said, nodding and giving his head a slight tilt. "It _is_ a bit more…three-dimensional."

"Apart from _that_," Alyssa laughed, nudging Willy slightly with her shoulder. "I just can't seem to put my finger on it."

"Easily solved," Willy chuckled, uncrossing his arms and placing his hand on her shoulder, turning her, and tilting her head back to a more normal position. It was actually amusing at times that he often had to remind her the more simple way of doing things, else she would complicate them for herself. "We'll just go have a look at the sketch."

He guided her out of the Inventing Room and back onto the Wonkatania – he had grown accustomed to having to cover her eyes or otherwise distract her, else they'd risk her getting sick on the little riverboat, which they both knew was unacceptable. Willy led her upstairs to his quarters, where he kept most of his blueprints and other papers – he had quite a few locks on his door, making it far more secure than his office, though it was doubtful that anyone could even break into the factory to begin with.

He pulled the blueprint paper out of the tube he had tucked it away in, and unrolled it onto his own four-post bed, gesturing towards it with a flourish and allowing Alyssa to have a look at it.

Alyssa had been skeptical at first, of course, when Willy was heading towards his quarters – she was more accustomed to the ways of men outside than she was with the ways of Willy Wonka. It took her a moment to warm up to the idea of heading into the room, but she rationalized that _this_ was Willy – whatever they had was something sweet and wonderful and never to be spoilt or rushed. Willy himself, of course, was a recluse – but this was a factory, not a monastery. He knew what the implications were, what the possibilities were, but Alyssa's faith in him was well-placed. In his mind, they had a good bit of life left ahead of them, and the future could be put off for as long as one desired, but once one left the realm of innocence and simplicity, they were never able to return. He once again found himself dwelling on the thought that he was glad he had retrieved Alyssa in time.

"That's it!" Alyssa said, her finger planted with a superb amount of conviction on a spot on the paper. She looked up at Willy with a grin. "The layers are far too close together, you'll never get any air into the batter that way," she explained. Alyssa expected Willy to have a sudden epiphany just like hers, and yet he nodded, bearing only a vague expression of recognition on his face. Alyssa laughed, shaking her head and rolling up the sheet.

"Baking and chocolateering are two very different animals," she said, smoothing her hand through her hair. "If baking were a snozzwanger, then chocolateering would be a – a – well, it would be a –"

"Vermicious knid?" Willy supplied with a grin.

"Exactly," Alyssa said, shifting her weight so that she was leaning back on her forearms, glancing sideways at the paper. "It's a daring move," she said, thinking on how a departure from the everyday Wonka products would be received. She had no doubt that she would always stand loyally at Willy's right hand in both business and love, but she doubted everyone else was compelled toward such loyalty.

"But we're together," Willy said, taking a seat on the mattress beside her, pushing a tendril of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear – the statement required hardly any explanation, it was _that_ simple. "You and I have been quite daring lately, if I do say so myself," he said, quirking the corner of his lips into a half-smile. This was something he believed – it had been a risk on both their parts, allowing this all to happen, and yet, it happened nonetheless.

The outside world, however, was not quite so simple, a point which even Willy conceded – it seemed that Alyssa had been able to give up her consciousness of the world outside, and Willy only wished he could, even if only for her sake.

His forehead creased in concern, a gesture which caught Alyssa's eye. "My competitors are coming up with new tricks by the minute," he nodded with a wistful smile. "I've exhausted myself trying to keep up without resorting to –"

"Is that _worry_ I see?" Alyssa asked, reaching forward and gently tracing her thumb over the small wrinkles in his forehead – she hated seeing him so distraught because it was so unfamiliar, and at this point, she had stopped harboring any desire to think about the outside world at all. "Careful," she laughed quietly, "Or these might be permanent."

Willy laughed, shaking his head and leaning forward, placing a kiss on her lips. He was about to say something wonderfully witty and romantic before a knock came at the door. Willy held up his index finger politely, then stood up, walking towards the large double doors of his master suite and pulling open the door to reveal a knee-height Oompa Loompa. He leaned over and allowed the little man to whisper in his ear, then looked over at Alyssa.

"Problem in the chocolate room," he said. Alyssa smiled, nodding in understanding and busying herself with the blueprints again.

As Willy shuffled along behind his orange-faced worker, he whistled nonchalantly to himself. Things were going along swimmingly, he thought, and it was all because of Alyssa and her wonderful, brilliant ideas, and her wondrous mind, and her perfect smile, and – it took Willy a moment to even get back to what he was thinking in the first place. Charlie was very much to thank for all it, without doubt. Willy was beginning to get worried that the children he had once lived to please through his work were beginning to become far too grown-up, but Alyssa was still as wonderful as a child, with insight to the real world which Willy never really wished to experience.

Willy equated the word '_real_' to pain, and he had come to the conclusion now that Alyssa was the only one who could keep him from it – avoiding pain was the reason he had retreated into this factory, why it became his universe. He had started his business thinking that he could trust everyone, that everyone in the business shared his vision.

He had been _hurt _when his secrets had started leaking out – he'd seen his fellow chocolatiers as his colleagues, his twin souls that possessed only the desire to preserve the happiness that so many had forsake by growing up and growing old. Oh, how wrong he had been. Things had changed from that moment, but now, it felt very much that Alyssa had brought those old, idyllic, glorious days back in a flood of smiles and white dresses and cake batter.

* * *

The office at the Headquarters of the World Confectioners' Guild was highly guarded, something which many found out for a high-rise full of candymakers – what on earth would require such harsh security?

Today, the panel was meeting and discussing the nominees for the year's upcoming Annual Confectioners' Gala and awards dinner, particularly for the most coveted Ambrosia Award, reserved for the top seller of the entire candy-making world. For nearly eight years, the award had gone to Wonka without competition.

This year, however, it was a good hour or so before Wonka's name was even mentioned – the chatter and bustle remained about the newest phenomenon to hit the scene.

Calloway Chocolates.

The Calloway family had owned the company for years, but until the black sheep of a son, Cullen, took over, their chocolate had been limited to obscurity, hidden on the bottom rung of shelves in shady corner stores. Something about Cullen's business dealing had brought the Calloway name to the top, and it was an inspiring story indeed – it was the tale of a complete turnaround, of a vagabond son once submerged in a torrid world of women, smoke, and mirrors, and his transformation into one of the most upstanding, successful gentlemen in the country. Cullen Calloway's story was one that tugged on the heartstrings of everyone yearning for the American dream.

Naming the other candidates, it was decided, was only a matter of tradition and propriety, for it was very clear who the declared winner would be.

* * *

Willy returned to his quarters, opening the door and taking off his hat, giving it an artful toss so that it landed neatly on the coat rack in the corner.

"Work to be done at all hours of the day," he chuckled, glancing around to find Alyssa, only to find that she was very much asleep on his bed. He gave a lopsided grin and walked over to his four-post bed, sitting on the mattress next to her.

Now, she was most definitely the girl he had known – sleeping, she had no trace of worry or anxiety. The expression she wore was so whimsical, so fresh. Her lips were parted slightly, and her arms were splayed delicately over the bed. She looked a bit similar to the way he imagined Alice in Wonderland, falling through the rabbit hole.

He continued doting over her sleeping form for minutes, not even realizing that he himself was slowly beginning to doze off next to her.

* * *

_A/N's_

_Gah, short chapter, I know! Actually, I think it's my second shortest chapter of the whole story so far, because it doesn't have as much action. And I've kept you waiting for a while – but I've been on Spring Break, taking care of a bunch of things. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter._

_This chapter actually bored me terribly, I just needed to get everything moving. The action is going to pick up next chapter, and it's going to pick up quite fast. __**Yva J.**__ is observant as usual, as I think she (as well as all of you) can see that Calloway's a bit fishy. Prepare for him to make an appearance again in a chapter or two to meet Alyssa in person. Also, __**sparrowed**__, I know! Things are going to nicely for them, it's almost sad for me to have to make Willy and Alyssa run the gauntlet anymore – but something that good is never easy._

_Cheers!_


	16. Chapter 16

To Willy, mornings had always been _mornings_. He'd pause for a moment to look out the window at the sun, if it was the least bit decent out, then head off to another day in the factory where there wasn't much time to admire the scenery, regardless of how much he would have liked to.

Now, however, he could have stayed in this precarious position for as long as his companion's slumber allowed him to, if not for the fact that she had somehow rolled onto his arm, and he was beginning to lose the feeling in his fingers.

Still, even the tingling numbness in his phalanges couldn't detract from the pleasant sight his Alyssa – _his _Alyssa – lying peaceful and calm at his side. Just that vision of softness and simplicity made him feel fulfilled and incredibly calm. He couldn't have loved her more if she was made of chocolate herself.

"Oh brave new world," he chuckled to himself, craning his neck to one side to get a better look at the woman who had changed absolutely everything in his tiny microcosm of a universe. "that has _such_ people in it." (1)

At the sound of his voice – the first time he'd even spoken since he'd entered the room the previous night, when he'd thought she was awake – she stirred slightly, arching her back and giving a delectably cat-like yawn. "Is it morning?" she said, opening her eyes slightly and staring at the window. Willy, however, took a glance at the clock hanging on the opposite wall.

"Nearly not," he laughed, nudging her temple with his nose and brushing his lips across her cheek. "I don't know how on earth I'm going to concentrate now," he added coyly, and Alyssa rolled onto her side to face him, laughing as well.

"You're horrible, Willy," she laughed, propping herself up onto her own forearm, which thankfully allowed the circulation to return to Willy's hand.

"Horribly charming, you mean," Willy smirked, using one hand to brush a strand of hair out of Alyssa's face. They were both incredibly wrinkled and tousled-looking, having slept in their day-clothes, but proper wardrobe could be attended to later. "I know."

Alyssa laughed, shaking her head and standing up to try and straighten herself out a bit, and she was about to retort when she heard a sound coming from outside the window. Brow furrowed, she turned around and rushed to the window to see a small figure standing outside the factory gates, jumping and yelling feverishly. Alyssa had to squint to be able to make out the exact features, though it was quite clear that the visitor was indeed a child.

"My _lord_," she murmured under breath, turning around to face Willy, who had now walked up behind her. "It's Kellie – Shay must have told her where I've been this whole time, but why would she –"

"Perhaps she missed you?" Willy suggested with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her away from the window. "I know I would."

Locking eyes for a brief moment, Willy caught the concern in Alyssa's eyes and took her hand firmly in his, leading her out of the bedquarters and down to the main foyer. They caught up with Charlie on the way, who made a quick decision to follow to two outside instead of eating brunch as he had planned. The three of them headed out to the main gates, opening it to welcome the tiny girl inside.

Kellie rushed over and hugged Alyssa tightly around the waist, wailing and rambling terribly until Alyssa placed a hand on the girl's head and shushed her.

"What's the matter?" Alyssa asked, eyes looking anxious and almost fearful.

"It's the shop, Miss Lyssa," Kellie sobbed, looking up at the woman with large, sad eyes. "There's – there's so many people!"

Alyssa looked down at her favorite customer with a look of confusion at the news, kneeling down to the girl's level – Willy and Charlie stood by as well, watching from a good few steps away. "Sweetpea, that's wonderful," Alyssa said, cocking her head to one side. "How did you—"

"No, it's _bad_!" Kellie shrieked vehemently, so shrilly that Alyssa jumped, and Willy gave a slight grimace. The small girl was certainly loud and prone to interrupting. Willy didn't care much for interrupting. "Miss Shay is using the – the Calloway bars! Everyone's asking for them!"

For a moment, Alyssa's forehead wrinkled as though she couldn't comprehend what the little girl had just told her, but when she finally managed to wrap her mind around it, her face went pale, and her jaw dropped as though she'd just been hit clean across the face. She turned around and looked up at Willy, who still bore the same undecipherable smile, though his lips her set tighter than usual.

Alyssa leaned forward and hugged Kellie – this girl was her lifesaver for bringing her the truth, regardless of however she arrived there. "This is the _last _time I ever trust that woman to do anything on her own." Alyssa said, her voice tight as though the greater part of it had gotten caught in her chest. She looked up at Willy, who nodded silently and offered her a hand. Pulling a flute-like instrument out of his coat pocket and playing a few notes. Within seconds the Wonkavator appeared in front of them.

Opening the glass door, Willy placed his other hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Make sure the little girl gets home alright, wherever she's from."

Charlie merely nodded and put an arm around the small girl, taking her inside. Once the two children were out of sight, Alyssa stepped into the Wonkavator, took a breath, and looked at Willy. She opened her mouth to speak, but he merely smiled, shaking his head and holding up a hand to silence her.

Willy stepped inside as well, taking a seat next to her. "I'll escort you the entire way," he said assuringly, taking one of her hands, though both were clasped in her lap. He leaned over towards her, a bit dismayed at seeing the overt anxiety evident on her face, when just moments earlier, she had been so calm, she fit in so perfectly with everything inside Willy's factory with its wonder and whimsy. With his free hand he reached over and pressed a button. The Wonkavator gave a lurch and they were on their way.

"Is that worry I see?" he joked lightly over the noise, smoothing his thumb over the wrinkles on her forehead, and a tiny shadow of a smile crept onto Alyssa's features. However, the entire ride was taken in silence until the contraption jolted to a stop in the back lot of Scoopreme Sundaes. After a long breath, Alyssa tromped out of the Wonkavator ahead of Willy and pushed open the back door, entering the shop to find Shay standing behind the counter.

Suddenly, as Alyssa stormed across the room, the fear and worry turned into a blinding, burning, seething anger at the betrayal of the one person who had been her friend, her business partner, her confidant. Shay, with one single act, had proven that perhaps the only people in the world who could be trusted were inside the Wonka factory. Not _here_.

The fear seemed to have registered on Shay's face as well as Alyssa approached, because she had slowly backed herself away until Alyssa was leaning across the counter, glaring at her with all the fury her rather small body could muster. They could only be glad that the shoppe was closed for lunch, because Alyssa would probably have not cared if there were customers in the store. What did she care about _Calloway_ customers anyway?

"You have ten seconds," Alyssa said, her voice quavering as one hand clenched around a nearby ice cream scooper, "before you have this embedded in your skull. _Explain_." She fumed. She didn't even say anything to announce that Willy had come with her, and when he entered as well, the fear and discomfort on Shay's face seemed to double. She couldn't bring herself to say anything – Shay couldn't remember ever seeing Alyssa this angry, and she never would have expected the smaller woman to be so utterly intimidating.

Realizing that Shay had absolutely nothing to say, Alyssa glanced down the counter and saw the case of offensive chocolate. She reached over and dragged the box so that it sat between her and Shay. "I told you," Alyssa said, her voice reducing to a low near-growl. "I don't want this here. Is this some kind of joke?"

Shay clenched her eyes shut for a brief moment, then leaned across the counter to face Alyssa. "I'm saving our shop –"

"_My_ shop –"

"No, _our _shop!" Shay spat vehemently, and she glanced resentfully at Willy, blaming him for whatever this change was in Alyssa. They were _partners_, their business was their life, and Willy had ruined _all_ of that, and he had the nerve to stand there and lean on his cane and grin like Mona Lisa while the woman he supposedly cared for threw her entire life away. "Ours! I stayed with you, I quit a good job to run this shop with you too – this place is _mine_ just as much as it is yours."

"It was _fine_," Alyssa growled. "We were doing alright the way we were –"

"No one's bought a single scoop of any Wonka flavors the entire time you've been gone," Shay said, and internally, she relished the grimace that crossed Willy's face. "All they've ordered is Calloways –"

"Send it _back_." Alyssa growled with a cruel note of finality. "Get your money back for that _crap_ before I burn it."

"Don't be so childish –"

"What if I _want_ to be?" Alyssa snapped harshly, and Willy felt a strange swell of pride at this response. It confirmed everything he had hoped to be true, that Alyssa had truly come to _belong_ in this world, that he had managed to salvage her sweetness before it had left the world forever.

Shay locked eyes with her friend, however, and made it clear that she was supposed to listen very carefully to what was to come. "This shop will _close_ by the end of the month."

The determination in Alyssa's face broke – to lose business was one thing, but to lose the shop altogether was something she had never even considered. She had walked away from everything for this place, and to lose it completely would have made it all in the vain. This shop had given her happiness, hadn't it?

Willy, however, did not sense the turmoil that Alyssa was going through at Shay's single statement. He strode over to the counter and pulled a Calloway bar out of the case, opening the wrapper and taking a bite.

"Well, what's so amazing about this?" he chuckled somewhat condescendingly. "Anyone with a taste for chocolate could tell it's poorly made. _Poorly_ made –"

"Willy –" Alyssa spoke weakly, so quietly that Willy didn't even hear it.

"At least you still have a little lucidity left in you –"

"Willy, please –"

"I suppose we'll need to market ourselves a bit differently," he theorized aloud to himself, staring at the chocolate bar with a jovial sort of distaste. "The project we've been working on would be –"

"_William_!" Alyssa said loudly, clenching her eyes shut – just the mention of the project that they had planned to unveil together was too painful now, knowing what she did, and Willy fell silent at the use of his much-hated given name. He glanced at her questioningly, not sure that he understood what she was so distraught about. He'd expected her to be a bit please for the fact that now she had nothing out here to worry about, and that she could go back to the factory with him, forget all of this and never worry about leaving.

"I have to do what I can to keep this shop open," Alyssa said in a very frail, weakened tone. "Willy, it's all I have –"

"_All you have_. I see." Willy said sharply, the bite in his voice so prominent that it caused Alyssa to wince, just at the sound of it. The fact that his face still retained that shadow of a smile which didn't quite seem to carry to his eyes made it all the more painful. "That explains why you've mentioned it all of _two_ times in the past three and a half weeks."

"Maybe it's best," Alyssa said, gulping over her words slightly, as though she was possessed and attempting to resist the words leaving her mouth. There was a horrible stinging feeling behind her eyes, though Alyssa refused to acknowledge it. "You revive your business, I revive mine. It's best for both of us. Mixing our – our professional lives and our personal lives could get very, very messy –"

"I see." Willy said shortly, and he moved his cane as though to turn away. "So shall we skip the goodbyes, then? We've done that once already."

"Willy –"

"You can consider our _business _deal null and void," he said, turning away on his heel. "Good day."

"Willy, _please_!" Alyssa said, reaching out and trying to hold onto Willy's arm. "I didn't mean that I thought we ought to –"

"Do what thou wilt," Willy said, turning his blank face back to Alyssa and pulling his arm out of her light grasp. "For I have _done_ with thee." (2)

At that, Alyssa had nothing more to say, and she felt the strange, splintering soreness in her chest as she watched Willy leave, and she heard the sound of the Wonkavator pulling away until the sound disappeared completely, leaving the room completely silent. Once he had gone, she sank tiredly into the booth seat at one of the tables, burying her head in her hands. Seeing her state, Shay walked over behind Alyssa and placed a hand on her shoulder – she felt completely responsible, but she also felt that she had just saved Alyssa, and that she would thank her later. Much later.

"You did the right thing," Shay said, ready for Alyssa to up red-eyed and sobbing. "This shop was your freedom. _Our_ freedom. If Willy doesn't understand that –"

"I'm an adult, Shay," Alyssa said through gritted teeth as she looked up, and Shay was surprised to find her dry-eyed and stoic. "I don't need a pep talk." Standing up and shrugging off Shay's hand she shook her head and forced a lopsided grin. "I can't believe you convinced me to go with him in the first place."

If Alyssa's angry, biting words earlier had been a dagger to Shay's gut, this new attitude she had taken on was twisting the dagger in the wound. "I know you love him –"

"_Love him_?" Alyssa interrupted, her voice choked and shrill, but with a sense of feigned haughtiness. "Anyone with a dream to chase has no time to be in love."

"You can cry, you know," Shay said, looking at Alyssa with concern – she had _never_ seen Alyssa cry, not once in all her years of knowing her.

"No, I don't cry." Alyssa said simply, moving over towards the counter and pulling her apron off of the hook, apparently ready to go back to work. "Crying is silly."

Just that statement broke Alyssa's heart – for nearly an entire amazing month, her life had been nothing but sweetness and silliness and good things, but now, she was reminded that what she had thought she wanted with Willy Wonka could never be real.

Perhaps it would have been better, she thought to herself as Shay opened the door to let in the first customers after lunch break, if she and Willy had just never found each other again at all.

Alyssa didn't notice that their first customer of the day was none other than their roguish business partner, and when he walked in to see the very pretty, albeit a bit messy-looking, woman behind the counter, Cullen Calloway knew that he had found his newest conquest.

"Miss Cabot," he said in a hearty voice, walking towards her and leaning over the counter, giving her a charming smile. "It's a pleasure finally meeting you."

Alyssa looked up – Calloway was a handsome man, no doubt of that, but Alyssa silently mused at how Willy could be beaten by this man whose eyes held absolutely no magic whatsoever.

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) and (2) – The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet, respectively, both by William Shakespeare._

_Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay with this chapter again – it was a bit tough to write all the emotion into it. Writing that tends to drain you, and I've already been a bit drained because of school lately. But my midterms grades are straight A's, so I give myself a pat on the back for that._

_**Yva J.**__, don't worry about reading into things too much. I tend to do everything intentionally as well, I like making sure every bit has meaning, so I'm glad you get something out of the way I develop my characters. __**sparrowed, **__it's quite alright if you'd like to keep seeing Depp Wonka, if you can get him out of the story. I can see similarities too, because it sort of started as a blend of the two anyway. Also, to my newest reviewer, __**Sekseeful Pyromaniac, **__I hope to see reviews from you again. And to all my other readers, don't be afraid to drop a few reviews. They're always really encouraging. Or shameless plugs, hee. I'd love feedback from more people._

_Cheers!_


	17. Chapter 17

Willy had never been prone to being ill, but the merciless gurgling in his stomach had not relented for nearly three days now – he kept his factory pristine and sterile because of course it was necessary, but because of this, it appeared his immune system found the outside world absolutely toxic, in more ways than one, and this quality rubbed off on the people in it.

In any case, he normally was able to go out for short outings without any consequence, and so he figured this outing was only difference because of its rather unfortunate circumstances, to which he only admitted to being _mildly distressed._ Every day so far, Charlie had walked in Willy's quarters trying to pry into why Willy had not brought Alyssa Cabot back, and every day so far, Willy had acted as if the question was a mere gust of wind blowing through his ears.

So, Willy wasn't surprised when Charlie pushed open the doors this morning.

"If you're hoping that I've been hiding Miss Cabot in a trunk for the past few days, you have my sincerest apologies," he said with a mildly melancholy grin, still sitting up in bed. "I'm sure you can run the factory for just one more –"

"Someone just left this at the gates, Mr. Wonka," Charlie said, brandishing an envelope and coming to his mentor's side. Willy had obviously not been expecting this break from routine, and he took the envelope from Charlie's hands, looking expectantly up at the boy. "A younger woman left it with me and said it was from her sister."

Brow furrowed, Willy opened the enveloped to find a folded piece of lined paper, printed in the scrawled of someone who was obviously a child.

_Mr. Wonka,_

_I am sorry if I am bugging you from work. I don't know whatsa matter with Miss Lyssa. Yesterday at school some bigger boys hit me and bullied me into eating a Calloway bar. I am in Sacred Heart Hospital because my arm's broke and I'm sick. Something is wrong. Please don't tell Miss Lyssa what happened._

_Kellie_

After reading the pleas of the little girl that he had felt such warmth towards, the queasy feeling in Willy's stomach was replaced by a sense of urgency, and he pushed himself out of bed, looking at Charlie. The concern blazed in his eyes – Calloway was behind all of this, and the wheels in his mind were working to figure out how, even if it was only him doing so. "You can handle things on your own today, Charlie?"

As the boy nodded, Willy prepared to go.

* * *

Alyssa sat at Kellie's bedside in her hospital room – Kellie had been angry at her ever since she returned to find that Alyssa hadn't told Shay to put things back to how they were, and the little girl refused to speak much to her. So, since Kellie's parents and sister were unavailable to keep her company, Alyssa merely tended to the little girl in the relative silence.

"Kellie," Alyssa said, sitting in a chair and holding her hand, speaking almost pleadingly. "You're gonna be alright, sweetie – but what happened?"

Kellie looked up at Alyssa, blinking tiredly. "You didn't want to hurt Mister Wonka, right? You're gonna fix things?"

Alyssa's expression fell from the smile she'd been trying to keep on – she couldn't fathom how to possibly explain this situation to a child, that it was as easy to fix as a broken yo-yo. "I wish I didn't have to," she said weakly, "But, I just –"

The hinge of the door creaked open, and Alyssa cut herself to look up, only to be met with those crystalline eyes she thought she'd never see again, and she looked down at Kellie, who smiled as much as she could while looking between the two. "Willy?" Alyssa said incredulously.

Willy, however, didn't grant her more than a glance before moving to sit at the opposite side of bed, taking a firm, comforting grasp on Kellie's hand. "I got your letter," he said sweetly, and there was a terrible tug in Alyssa's stomach when she realized that she was somewhat jealous of the little girl for being the object of that tone. "I brought you something, It might help a bit," Willy said, pulling a Wonka bar out of his coat pocket and placing it next to Kellie.

The little girl looked crestfallen that Willy had made no effort to talk to Alyssa – she had seen them with her own two eyes just days ago, they loved each other so much. Why were they making it all so difficult?

Willy gave Kellie another smile as he removed his hand from hers and got up to leave. Spurred by something she couldn't quite name, Alyssa rose from her chair and caught up with Willy just outside of the door to Kellie's hospital room.

"Willy," she said slowly, and he internally damned himself for being unable to resist the urge to turn and face her. "You look a little pale – are you alright?"

He could see the concern in Alyssa's face, and he very much wanted to smile and reassure her that she didn't need to worry about _anything_. But judging by her actions, using the line of logic he had been very accustomed to utilizing, she didn't desire his presence, because she was making it terribly difficult for anything to flourish between them.

"No worse off than yourself," Willy said vaguely, noting internally that Alyssa looked as though she hadn't slept at all for days, topped off by the hurt expression that grasped her countenance as he so brusquely pushed her concern aside.

"She wrote you?" Alyssa asked, gesturing back towards Kellie's room and dead set upon looking as though she felt absolutely no hurt whatsoever. "She won't tell me what happened."

Willy recalled the letter and understood – Kellie had requested that he keep the incident with the boys on the playground and the Calloway bar a secret because the little girl had known it would hurt Alyssa. Moreover, Willy was good to his word to the greatest extent that his conscience allowed.

"Perhaps it was something she ate," he said vaguely, turning on his heel and walking away with a careless 'good day' muttered over his shoulder. Alyssa blinked, shaking her head and gritting her teeth – a motion which very quickly gave her the beginnings of a headache – as she walked back into Kellie's room.

Kellie's hopeful, tired little grin fell as Alyssa returned to the room alone – she had wanted so very much to see them make things better and take care of her together. Alyssa looked at the smaller girl in the eye, but Kellie looked away, looking incredibly hurt and close to tears. If Alyssa hadn't felt like she'd lost everyone now, having even Kellie turn away from her must have done the trick.

Alyssa was very close to kneeling at the girl's bedside and begging her to say a word, but before she could, the door creaked open again. Alyssa spun around to look, hoping to see Willy back again, even if only for Kellie's sake. Instead, she only found herself face-to-face with a handsome, hollow grin

"Cullen," Alyssa asked incredulously.

"I heard about your little patron and just had to come," Cullen said, walking towards Kellie's bed and placing a hand on her forehead out of artfully feigned affection. Kellie grimaced noticeably, but that expression was nothing compared to the look of displeasure on Cullen's face when he spotted the colorful bit of wrapping poking out from the folds of the hospital bedsheets.

"Wonka?" he said, dripping with obvious disdain. "Well no wonder the poor dear's ill." He reached into his coat and brandished one of his own candybars with an overly exaggerated flourish, and both girls visibly stiffened as they realized that the man was merely a bad imitation of Willy Wonka, loved only for his sickeningly infectious, affected charms. "Here, sweet pea, eat this –"

"No, don't!" Alyssa said suddenly, making both Kellie and Cullen look up at her; the latter had a cocked eyebrow, wondering why his newest underling had suddenly and so rashly spoken out. Alyssa, of course, realized this all too late, but was resolved to cover up the fact that she now had absolutely no trust for the man. She walked over to the bedside, siding up next to Cullen with a coy grin, her forearm brushing against his.

"Let the poor dear's stomach rest, Cullen," she said calmly, and Cullen, the womanizer he was, was incredibly receptive to this new attitude, as he tucked the candy bar back into his pocket, though his eyes defied her to explain. "We're restricting her to oatmeal and warm milk until we figure out what made her sick."

"Probably the ruddy stomach flu," he chortled, gesturing towards the exit. Alyssa glanced at Kellie briefly, then followed Cullen as they started toward the hallway. "You know how children are."

"Yes. Yes, I do," she said. Alyssa paused and put on a convincing smile, though the wheels in her head were now turning – she saw something in Cullen when she'd interjected moments earlier. She had seen fear, the sort of fear one shows when they are hiding something. "I know children very well actually," she continued with the same calm smile, which drew Cullen a step closer to her. He wanted to play cat and mouse – but Alyssa was never one to be compared to a rodent. She cocked one side of her lips into a smirk and looked away offhandedly. "Willy stopped by too, you know. Thinks it could be something she _ate._"

"Imagine that," Cullen said, stiffening slightly, but taking a step closer so as not to be conspicuous, though Alyssa could have sworn she saw the red smeared all over his hands. Interrupting her thoughts, Cullen leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek, cocking a charming grin before turning and leaving.

"Yes, _do imagine_," Alyssa muttered to herself, turning back and re-entering Kellie's room. She looked at the girl and gave her a weak smile. "I'm going to make everything better, Kels," she stated resolutely, walking over to the young little cherub's bedside and picking up the Wonka bar. She pulled the wrapper open at one end and held it out for Kellie to take. "Eat this. You'll feel much better," she said lovingly.

Alyssa gave Kellie one last look, and moved to leave – an idea was now running through her head, one that was burning to her very core. It would take everything she had to follow through, quite literally, and she couldn't commit to it yet.

She walked all the way back to her own shoppe and as she pushed open the newly painted door, she was greeted by a loud squeal from Shay, followed by the other woman nearly tackling her to the floor in an friendly, excited embrace. Alyssa pulled back and looked at Shay in confusion, only to have a piece of parchment brandished in her face – and she recognized it very well.

"The Candymakers' Gala?" she said incredulously, snatching it out of Shay's hands. The words were printed plain as day, and yet Alyssa could not believe that the piece of well-calligraphed pen had been delivered to the right address. She had wanted to receive this invitation since the day the shoppe opened, and now, it arrived, yet under the most disgusting circumstances. "You mean, we were invited this year?"

"Yes!" Shay cried out shrilly, snatching it back and jumping into the air. "Isn't it fantastic? We're the most popular ice cream parlour in the area and it's all thanks to Cullen Calloway –" Shay froze suddenly as she saw the expression on Alyssa's face become one of only feigned joy. "Lyssa, I'm so –"

"Just forget it," she said with a stiff smile – this news made the dilemma the meeting with Cullen had presented her with infinitely more difficult to resolve. "I – I need to go for a walk." Alyssa shook off Shay's attempts at apologizing and comforting her, then walked out of her shop yet again.

Alyssa pulled her coat around her as she wandered through the suburban streets, allowing the winter wind to whip her all about her. There had been a time, not long ago, when everything about Alyssa had to be crisp and impeccable, but now, she couldn't bear to feel so restrained.

She found herself realizing that she had wandered a bit farther than she had intended to, in front of avery familiar building.

Bill's Candy Shoppe.

Old Bill could always be relied upon to cheer up his customers – or rather, his guests. The old shop always seemed so much more like a little home, and maybe, just maybe, it was the only thing that could have made Alyssa smile right now. She walked in, and she was greeted with a smile by the owner, standing faithfully behind the counter as always.

"Do you have any Wonka bars?" Alyssa asked, and she was met by aknowing smile from Bill. "I just miss them, that's all."

"Miss _them_, you say?" he said with a grin, moving to the single box he had, which had obviously hardly been touched. He pulled one out, giving it a bit of a toss and a juggle in the air before handing it to Alyssa. "I'm the only one who still gets regular shipments – it's a terrible shame," he said, eyeing Alyssa knowingly, leaning over the counter slightly to speak to her, though her mind seemed elsewhere.

"Can you tell me how Calloway bars became so popular?" she asked suddenly, and Bill pulled back slightly, letting out a breath as though he had been fully expecting the question.

"It's a strange story," he began, and with that single statement, Alyssa was enthralled. "Calloway marketed to adults, really – overpriced, underflavored goods. Hardly ever made it off the shelves. Then one day, a shipment came in with new packing, new _everything_. The adults began to give them a try, and they kept coming back as though they couldn't help themselves. Their children began coming in for them, and the rest is history."

Alyssa seemed dazed, her eyes staring off toward oblivion beneath a furrowed brow. "Strange," she muttered with a nod. "_Very_ strange."

* * *

_A/N's_

_You have my deepest apologies, you guys. I know, I haven't upated in a pretty long while, but I've been so swamped lately. School's been incredibly busy for me lately, and I've just started making plans. I'm getting married this summer - so trying to plan for that, as well a keep up with my classes, has been incredibly busy. I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter, which is actually going to be a bit less plot-driven than this one. Anyhow, I'm a bit pressed for time, because I need to work on a paper tonight, but I'll be updating soon, and I wanted to be sure you all knew that I haven't disappeared from the face of the earth. Thanks everyonefor the reviews, I always appreciate them! Cheers!_


	18. Chapter 18

The ten seconds before midnight built no excitement or momentum for Willy – though he was always the sort to count his blessings at the beginning of a new year, but this year, he was more excited to head to bed. He merely stayed here with a reserved grin, celebrating and drinking hot cocoa with the Buckets.

Hot cocoa, Willy mused. Hot cocoa was the only tiny corner of the chocolate market that Calloway had not managed to take over. If he hadn't been so terribly drained from just the mere knowledge that his very dreams were failing and paling at the sight of changes in the world outside, he might have thought to wonder why – but now, he merely wanted to keep what he had, here in this wonderful place built in the architecture of his own fancy, and to hell with the world outside. If he and his wonders were not wanted, neither were any of them outside needed.

He stared somewhat foolishly at the mug for a good few minutes before he realized that Charlie had rushed up to him excitedly, hollering "Happy NewYear!"

Seeing the boy's smile, Willy couldn't help but feel silly for letting thoughts of the woman who had been there just over a week put a damper on the celebration – and it wasn't the sort of silly that he enjoyed. He grinned at Charlie, only to have that smile fade a bit when the boy held out a mug of hot cocoa in his direction in a way that brought back memories at a time when he very much would have hoped they could stay away.

* * *

_"Just try some!"_

_"No, Willy, I don't like cocoa –"_

_Young Willy and Alyssa had opted out of spending the New Years' Ever countdown with the others in the banquet room, and instead, sitting in the library and listening to the countdown on the radio. Willy was insisting that Alyssa try the new recipe for hot cocoa that he had come up with, and the girl couldn't help but groan at the prospect of trying his twenty seventh "new recipe" this week._

_However, never one to turn down her best friend, Alyssa obliged and took a sip._

_Wonderful as usual, she thought with a small grin._

_Suddenly, the announcer on the radio began to count down from ten to one, and Alyssa grabbed Willy's hand in excitement, eyes glowing – Willy's heart jumped and kathumped wildly, and he grasped her hand in return, barely prepared for her to jump towards him and hug him tightly as the clock struck midnight._

_"You want to know what I wished for?" she asked, still hugging him with her eyes shut tightly – it was always their custom to make a wish at midnight._

_Willy gave a vague 'hm?' as he was inexplicably at a loss for much more intelligible. He internally told himself that his wish was to one day be half as open and eager as Alyssa was now._

_"I want to be taller," Alyssa said, grinning broadly and stepping back, flopping back comfortably to a couch cushion she had dragged onto the floor._

_"That's ridiculous," Willy laughed, striding over and sitting next to her, resting his arm on the cushion. "Girls aren't supposed to be tall."_

_"Well, I'm going to need to see over the counter if we have a shoppe together," she laughed matter-of-factly._

_"Clever," Willy chuckled back, laying down comfortably. Alyssa gave a small yawn and rested her head on Willy's chest, looking up at the ceiling and not noticing at all how red the paler boy's face had gone._

_"When do you think we're going to get out of here?" she mused, gazing distantly at some spot on the ceiling and not noticing that Willy had barely stopped himself from fainting._

_"When – when we're terribly grown up I suppose," he shrugged. He wasn't too sure why he was reacting so strangely so his best friend, but he supposed that it had something to do with their conversation about 'crushes' just weeks earlier. Things had been a bit strange since that day no doubt about it. Willy wondered if she noticed._

_"I think you're wonderful," Alyssa sighed quietly, interrupting Willy's thoughts – he heard her well enough, but he could not for the life of him believe it had really been what he had heard._

_"What was that?" he asked, propping himself up on his forearms. "I'm a trifle deaf in one ear."_

_Now, Alyssa's face went a bit pink – she had no intention of actually being heard, and her eyes darted around a bit to try and buy herself time. "I didn't say anything," she said, raising an eyebrow in a very accurate show of nonchalance. She turned a bit so she was facing Willy and smiled. "But you know, you're my favorite person in the world," she laughed. She reached into her jacket pocket and held a piece of paper out to him. As they both sat up, Willy unfolded it and saw that it was a piece of paper with a formidable amount of text written on it, with a dotted line drawn neatly at the bottom._

_"You want me to sign this?" he asked, cocking his head to one side and squinting at the printing which got quite small at the bottom. "And why is it so tiny?"_

_"Well, I was running out of room. No one reads that far anyway," Alyssa laughed, wrinkling her nose a bit in the way that Willy had and unknowingly always would find endearing. "And you don't sign it, silly – it's a contract for our shop. Anyone who comes in has to promise not to steal any of our secrets."_

_"But – it doesn't really say anything," Willy said, turning the paper as though reading it upside down would translate it into English. "…et cetera et cetera…Mee – mem…"_

_"Memo bis punitor delicatum," Alyssa recited with a grin._

_"What does it mean?"_

_"I don't know, but it sounds awfully official, doesn't it?" Alyssa smiled, leaning over with a yawn and resting her head on Willy's shoulder. This was indeed, Willy decided (though he didn't know why), an especially delicious New Year, but neither Willy Wonka nor Alyssa Cabot knew it would be their last together at Oscar Jarvis Academy._

* * *

"Mama," Alyssa said, taking a breath and knocking hesitantly on the large oak doors of her parents' winter home – she hadn't seen them in person for two years, and she felt that it was high time she try to at least come onto good terms with them. "Pop – oh!" she squealed slightly, as she was just about to knock again, the door swung open and a man with her nose and a woman with her lock thick hair, tiny frame, and striking eyes stood in the doorway. "Happy New Year," she said shyly, prodding her toe nervously into the welcome mat.

To Alyssa's surprise, her mother sprang forward and hugged her tightly, patting her hair lovingly as though she were the eight-year-old girl that she'd never been able to properly spoil. Her father, however, merely motioned her inside.

Charlton and Laura Cabot were always prim and pressed, and even now, they were no different. Their parlour still seemed fit to grace the front of a Hallmark card, and put Alyssa's posh but cluttered studio to utter shame.

And Alyssa was most definitely not prepared to learn that her parents were concerned enough to interrogate her, let alone read up on her in the local papers.

"So, your shop has changed to those Cabberway chocolates –"

"Calloway, ma," Alyssa said in the stiff but polite voice she had taken up around her parents out of habit. "I had to keep it afloat somehow –"

"Bull!"

"Daddy, _please_!" Alyssa protested in exasperation, not wanting to argue with the very man she had inherited her stubbornness from.

"If you'd given a rat's bottom about _staying afloat_," he began in an almost mocking, sarcastic tone, "then you would have stuck with that cushy job at Allied Research. I didn't like you opening that little scoop parlor, but I respected that my daughter had the spunk to do something that meant something to here. What do these _Coocalay _–"

"Calloway," Alyssa protested weakly, with a hint of incredulity in her voice. She couldn't remember her father ever uttering the statement that he _respected_ her.

"Whatever they are," Charlton said dismissively, shaking his head and scrunching his face in a way that ruffed up his moustache. Alyssa glanced at her mother for support, thinking she'd receive it judging by the warm welcome, only to find that her mother had her eyes trained on her father. "What do they mean to you?" he said, locking deeply into his daughter's eyes.

Alyssa froze and looked down at the floor. "Sometimes, you have to learn to make adult decision, I know that now –"

"Adults know how to make sacrifices." Charlton said, his still rather lively looking eyes peeking through his horn-rimmed spectacles and bushy, graying eyebrows. "And adults know how to stand by their principles."

Alyssa felt terribly like a child at this moment, and a very naughty one at that. Her parents had never given her a lecture like this, because they'd never had the time nor the inclination to act extraordinarily parental. She would have mused for hours over what brought this about when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Alyssa was pulled from her stupor to look at her mother standing behind her, and Alyssa's breath caught in her throat as she realized even her mother, the woman she'd never been able to connect to wholly, had something to tell her as well.

"The shop was never about the money," Laura said in a soft, crystalline voice. "It was about that Wonka boy. The one at the Academy," she said with a knowing smile that reminded Alyssa so much of Mrs. Bucket, and it hit her that suddenly, for the first time, Laura Cabot was being a _mother_. Alyssa looked at her father, whose expression had softened considerably.

"I was proud of you," he said simply, and Alyssa found herself pained to keep tears from springing to her eyes upon hearing it.

"Papa?" she said quietly, blinking and staring at her father as though he were a completely different man. "Pa, what do you mean?"

Alyssa's heart nearly leapt out of her chest as her father got up and knelt down next to her, placing his hands on his daughter's knees. "You believed in something so strongly, you gave up everything you'd gained to make it real." He said simply. "You _loved_ that Wonka boy. It was so clear, even then. You never said a word, but it was _so _clear."

Alyssa's mouth hung open, and she stood up, walking towards the fireplace and opting to look at the photos framed on the mantle rather than at her parents. "You knew? Both of you?" she said weakly, shaking her head. "Was I the only one who _didn't_? What am I supposed to –"

"Just _stop_," Laura said, coming up to her and hugging her from behind. "Stop trying so hard to be grown up and just be the girl I know you are. Happy as a clam, sly as a fox – you'll do it."

"I don't know –"

"Alyssa DeGrange Cabot, you remember this." Charlton said, coming up and pulling something out of his pocket. Alyssa turned around and saw that her father was holding a Calloway bar out to her. "A little learning is a dangerous thing (1)."

"Pa?" Alyssa asked, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "That's out of one of my books, the ones I used to read when I was little –"

"You don't think we bought those books just for _your _enjoyment, do you?" Her mother laughed. And suddenly, Alyssa paused to realize that for once, she was really _here_, in this moment with her family, in a scene it for a Hallmark card.

Things _could _change, she realized, and if she had her say, they _would_.

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) Alexander Pope_

_Yay, I managed to chug through another chapter! It's been tough, finals week and all. I'd like to thank **iCraft** for the personal shoutout in their review, I really appreciate it! Hee. All my readers are invited to my wedding in spirit. Also, thank you to **Yva J. **for being such a diligent reader and reviewer._

_Things are going to pick up fairly soon as far as action goes in this story, and we're not too near being done yet. We've still got a slimy Cullen Calloway to deal with, and I don't think I'll go too easy on the good guys yet. Don't worry, nothing too nasty, but here's a hint. Cullen will remain a creepy git for the entirety of the story. _

_I actually really enjoyed writing the scene between Alyssa and her parents, because it's just the sort of thing I wish happened more often in families, and as such, I gained great pleasure from thinking it up. In the next chapter, we're going to have some confrontations and scheming going on, so I needed to pump out some fluffy scenes, because failing to do so would be a bit inhumane, don't you think? Cheers!_


	19. Chapter 19

Alyssa rolled out of bed groggily, slipping into her bedroom slippers and heading toward the washroom – she vaguely remembered being roused from her proper state of deep sleep numerous times throughout the night and ungodly hours of the morning by the blaring ring of her telephone, which she purposefully neglected to answer.

It was now January fourth – three days since her visit with her parents, and three days before the Confectioners' Gala. Moreover, it had been announced that the emcee of the night would be the owners of the fastest growing business in the metropolitan area, Scoopreme Sundaes. That meant that Alyssa Cabot and Shay O'Shaughnessy were to be guests of honor, a title which made Alyssa's decision much more difficult. As much as she wanted to do the right thing for so many reasons – for Willy, for her parents, for herself – she felt a dull ache at even the prospect of leaving all of this hard-earned progress behind.

She then reminded herself of how quickly she'd manage to leave the work she and Willy had done on their brainchild, their achievement – but a cake batter fountain, she thought, was nowhere near as big as an entire business.

Alyssa finished getting ready, still a bit dazed by this barrage of thoughts, and managed to drive to work. Parking her car in the spot she always chose, and walking own that very familiar street, she relished the fact that this place, at the very least, stayed very much the same.

That is, until the instant she walked through the door to her own shop – it was as if she had been shoved into an entirely different universe. When she had first opened the entire shop, she ha painstakingly chosen the colors, the materials, the pictures on the wall, so that the place was welcoming and home-like. But now, the colors were green and steely grey, with strange pictures on the wall from oddball faux-Postmodern artists that one displayed in order to seem cultured and bourgeois.

It had Cullen Calloway's name written all over it.

"What on God's green earth is this garbage?" Alyssa snapped shrilly as Shay entered from the supply closet. The taller girl jumped at being confronted so directly and took a couple of steps back when she saw that Alyssa was positively fuming.

"New décor," she said, shrugging nonchalantly, an action which only fueled Alyssa's aggravation more. "Cullen's been trying to call you for the past few days, Lyss."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and turned around to face away from Shay in order to restrain herself from leaping at the girl and tearing out every strand of hair on her head.

"He says it sends the wrong message to customers," Shay continued, and she steadied herself as she saw Alyssa's fists clench from behind. Alyssa knew exactly what it meant – the way it looked before marked it clearly as _Wonka_ territory, and Cullen's pride would never have that, not even a trace of it. "I think it's spiffy –"

"Yes, you _would_ think so," Alyssa hissed vehemently, whirling around and facing Shay, eyes bursting with incredible malice. "Change it back. All of it."

"Alyssa don't be ridiculous –"

"I _said_ –" she snarled in a dangerously quiet tone, eyes narrowed as she stood toe-to-toe with her taller co-connoisseur, "- change it back."

"This is _Cullen's_ shop now," Shay retorted sharply, and at this mere statement, Alyssa visibly recoiled – she and Shay never used to argue this way before Calloway, before _everything_. There was a time they had been the best of friends, not merely associates. "What Cullen Calloway say, goes."

Alyssa paused, taking a breath and shaking her head. This had brought everything she had gone through, everything she lost, to a rolling, crashing cacophonous crescendo. There was nowhere else to go at this point but back, back to where things had once been. "Yes," she nodded, walking over to the counter and bracing herself on it with her hands. "What Cullen says, goes."

"Thank god, Lyss –"

"And I _go_ with it." Alyssa finished strongly, turning and facing Shay, though one hand still gripped the edge of the counter so tightly that her knuckles went white. Shay paused, not completely understanding – at she first, she had thought Alyssa meant she was finally accepting the change, but not so. "This is wrong, Shay, _all _of it. This isn't my shop anymore, you destroyed it." Alyssa pushed away from the counter and strode over to Shay, jabbing a delicate finger into the soft cavity of the taller woman's shoulder. "And _you_ can go down with it, you slimy, conniving bitch."

"Lyss, just face it," Shay said fiercely, shoving Alyssa's hand away and leaning into her face. "It's _over_. You and Willy are never going to –"

"Don't talk about Willy and don't pretend you know a _damn_ thing!" Alyssa cried out shrilly, shoving Shay backwards. "You turned this shop into everything I swore I was going to leave behind, and I'm done. For once, I'm going to do what's right. Cullen Calloway is going to fall, and I swear, he is going to fall _hard_ – and with how far you've got your head up his rear end, you'll go right down with him. This is the end, Shay." Alyssa pulled her keys out of her pocket and threw them onto the counter, sending them skidding and clanking away from her. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Before Shay could talk her out of it somehow, Alyssa turned on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her. She opted out of driving away, and instead began wandered aimlessly, much as she had when she'd ended up at Bill's shop. Today, however, she found herself at a different corner store on a different street, craving for some hot cocoa – it held memories for her, and it was, as silly as it may seem, incredibly comforting. She meandered over toward the Calloway display, albeit grudgingly, because it was the first thing anyone saw. However, she paused, looking at the entire, aisle-wide display, only to realize that the thing she coveted was nowhere near. Come to think of it, she had never even _seen_ Calloway hot cocoa in stock anyway. She assumed it must have been a simple mistake, and walked over to the cashier.

"Excuse me," she said, tossing her scarf over her shoulder and clearing her throat to gain the cashier's attention. "I was looking for cocoa –"

"Oh, here," said the somewhat pimply-faced teenage boy, pulling a box out from behind the counter, and Alyssa was surprised to see the warm brown and orange hues of the Wonka logo emblazoned on the paper. She felt a twinge of guilt even _taking_ something of Willy's, especially this cocoa, whose recipe she and Willy had spent many a night mulling over in the kitchen of Oscar Jarvis Academy.

"I'll just take a Calloway bar," Alyssa said politely, and the cashier obliged.

The half hours passed in a bit of a daze, and Alyssa was surprised that she made it back to her car, let alone found herself able to drive back to her flat. She opened the door and made her way right to her stove, unwrapping the Calloway bar and crumpling the paper quite intentionally, giving it a good hurl so that it sailed across the room and landed clear behind the couch. Alyssa then dropped the chocolate carelessly into a small, quickly warming melting pot, just in time to hear the phone ring.

Alyssa slipped off her wool coat and tossed it onto her chaise before answering.

"Hello, this is –"

"Miss Cabot, you'll never believe what I heard," came the slick, affected voice of Cullen Calloway, and Alyssa clenched her teeth to keep from releasing a string of very unladylike utterances right then and there. "Miss O'Shaughnessy seems to be under the impression that you've _jumped ship_, so to speak," he chuckled. "I told her that she must have misheard –"

"She heard correctly," Alyssa answered sharply.

Cullen's laugh stopped with a quick staccato, and for a brief moment, there was silence – but Cullen Calloway was by nature a playboy, and for that matter, one who never allowed a conquest to walk away. "You're being silly," he said, his laugh now coming out harsh and forced. "Don't be such a ninny. Discontent is one step in progressing a man's nation –"

"It's '_discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation (1),' _you twit," Alyssa snapped angrily, feeling personally affronted by his lack of knowledge as far as literature was concerned. "Do with the shop as you please," she spat, slamming the phone back down.

Alyssa paused, and her hand tentatively slid back to the phone. Before she could stop herself, she picked it up again and began dialing. For a few moments, it rang, and gave Alyssa sufficient time to hang up, and yet she refused. When she heard the familiar voice on the other line, her heart leapt.

"Willy," she said almost breathlessly, not quite sure what she expected from this conversation. "Willy, it's me."

"Why hello, _Me_," he replied quite facetiously, and just by the stiffness in his tone, Alyssa could tell that he recognized her voice well enough. "I'm me as well – actually, though, grammatically correct would be '_I' –_"

"Hot cocoa," Alyssa interrupted, though she knew how much Willy hated it. There was a time, both of them thought, that Willy would have pointed it out, and Alyssa would merely laugh an allow him to continue. Now, though, Willy fell silent, and that in itself pierced into Alyssa terribly. "Willy," she said, sounding apologetic, "There's something –"

"There's something I can still manage to sell, eh?" Willy interrupted, sounding stiff and forced, though he pushed through with his sort of surface humor. "No need to gloat, my dear. I'm sure Cullen will take it from me sooner or later. He has a way of doing _just_ that."

"Willy, no!" Alyssa protested. "Willy, no, I meant –" but it was too late. The other end became absolutely silent, and it was clear that he had hung up the phone.

Alyssa groaned, burying her head in her hands as she felt like her head was starting to spin, but the scent of melting chocolate reminded her that her stove was still working. She forced herself up off of her sofa and walked over to the pot, but she blinked at what she saw.

"Good god," she mumbled, leaning over the pot and examining what she had expected to be merely melted chocolate. This, however, had a livid green, filmy liquid floating over the brown, thin goo that hardly looked like chocolate. Alyssa reached over for a mixing spoon to scrape a bit of the green substance up, then daintily lapped at it with her tongue.

She nearly gagged at the strange, burnt, pungent taste, and out of reflex dropped the spoon on the floor. Alyssa hurried to the sink to fill a glass with tap water, glugging down the entire container.

The young woman's mind raced as she went to her medicine cabinet and pulled out one of the tiny medicine dose cups for her cold medicine, and as she went back to the kitchen and scooped bit into the container, things began to come together for her, and she was sure they had already come together for Willy, because of his lack of surprise at her mention of hot cocoa – it was _she_ that had made him indifferent, and that hurt her more than anything.

There was only one thing left to be done now.

She was still well thought-of at Allied Research – she'd been one of their best employees before her abrupt decision to leave. Now, it was time to call in a long overdue favor.

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) – Oscar Wilde, "A Woman of No Importance"_

_I know, Willy's conspicuously absent – I was tempted to throw in an unplanned scene, but I thought the fluidity of this chapter was nice. Anyway, aren't we all relieved that Alyssa finally got all that off of her chest? But that doesn't mean that things are going to be particularly easy from here on out. I have a couple more twists planned for you._

_I'd like to thank my newest reviewer, __**win-chun90**__ – hearing from new reviewers is always nice! (Hint hint.) Also, to __**iCraft**__, your reviews are so cheery! I love it – hopefully, I'll be able to provide you with a sufficient amount of pink clouds and fluff eventually. And finally, to __**Yva J.**__, thank you again! My final exams are still roughing me up a bit, but only a few more days, and I'll have more time on my hands. I'm excited! Hopefully I'll be able to complete this story somewhat soon, but then I'll need a new project to pursue. Hm. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Cheers!_


	20. Chapter 20

"…can you do that for me Charlie?'

"Yes, Miss Alyssa, I will." Charlie spoke into the phone, nodding eagerly although he couldn't be seen. "But why did you quit? Are you going to –"

"I'm not coming back there, Charlie," she replied in a quiet, apologetic tone – she could already tell by the brightness in his voice that he'd expected it. "But I'm doing the right thing. I just need to be alone for a while, to take care of things. I don't know how exactly I'm going to do this."

"Do what?"

"Don't worry your little head over it," Alyssa laughed quietly. "Just know that I'm not going to let anything ruin Willy. I'd never want that to happen."

And the line went silent.

Charlie immediately sprinted clear on to the Chocolate Room to tell Willy what he'd learned, and for the first time in weeks, Wonka showed some bit of reactive emotion, but it fizzled out all too quickly. True, Alyssa had left the shop for one reason or another, but because she was not there at the factory gates telling him herself, Willy was quite sure that the reason was not him. He perhaps intentionally banished from his mind that Alyssa had in fact tried to speak with him.

"It's incredibly kind of her to think of us," Willy said, clucking his tongue and grinning, though there was a vague sort of melancholy lacing his voice that only one who knew him well would be able to detect. "But there's not a great deal she can do. Her business – or her lack thereof – is none of mine."

"But Mister Wonka –"

"Charlie, my dear boy," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Why don't you run along now? I'm thinking of something very important." Willy noted Charlie's grin and knew right away that the boy had assumed he'd meant he was thinking of Alyssa – and indeed he was, but he chided himself for doing so. "I don't for the life of me know what I'm wearing to the Gala, and I only have two days to go."

Two days, Willy thought, until it was confirmed that he'd indeed lost the beautiful, stable, surreal world he'd created. Wonka Chocolates as he knew it was finished – because though it would never cease to bring _him_ the same joy as it always had, it had been forsaken by the children he'd been so apt to please with his work. He'd already known this was the case when Alyssa had decided to go along with her friend instead of him, this Gala was merely a technicality. He had grown to accept her into his world, to trust her, because she had remained loyal to him for so many years, even from a distance. Yet now, even _that_ loyalty...

Defeated or not, however, Willy Wonka would not allow it to be thought of him that he was unable to take it in stride. His pride would not allow him to fade into reclusion a second and final time without at least one more moment of glory. Hope for Alyssa's return, for Calloway's downfall, for keeping the love and admiration he'd worked so much to earn from the world outside – all was a bit futile, and while it pained him to see it all collapsing, he reminded himself that he would never be alone. He would have the Oompa Loompas, he would have the Buckets, and he would have his chocolates. What more could he have desired to begin with?

* * *

Kellie was in her room, playing tea party with her dolls. She was alone, in the manner to which she was accustomed– her sister was off doing whatever _old_ children did, her father was working, and her mother was off on yet another spa day with her college friends. Perhaps this was the reason Kellie got on with Alyssa so well, because Kellie was going through very much the same thing, being from a wealthy family that rarely consolidated in a single room for more than five minutes.

Today, however, was very different. As she was busy pouring her favorite stuffed rabbit, Snuffles, a cup of invisible tea. The doorbell downstairs rang. Surprised, Kellie dropped her plastic tea kettle and ran to the hallway, sliding down the banister and landing quite well-balanced in front of the door. She pushed an armchair up to the door to reach the peephole, and she gave a tiny gasp when she saw a blonde-haired boy standing outside.

Charlie Bucket had received that phonecall from Alyssa earlier that day, asking him to go check up on the little girl, and being that Charlie was indeed very fond of Alyssa and thought her to be very nice, regardless of everything, he obliged. He wasn't aware that the phonecall to him had been the last anyone had really heard from Alyssa in days.

Though Charlie hardly knew Kellie, a little girl three years younger than himself, he didn't feel any personal objection to being friends with her, because she, like he had been, was kind, trusting, but alienated. Charlie grinned as he greeted the little girl when she opened the door, and he gave a slight laugh, noticing that her cheeks went a bit pink when she saw him.

"Hi, Mister Charlie," Kellie said, standing in the doorway and digging her toe timidly into the ground. Charlie had expected her to ask where he'd found out where she lived, but Kellie was never one to question where pleasant surprises came from.

"Just Charlie," he laughed, stepping inside the large, decorous home and giving a small whistle – he'd never seen a normal _house_ quite like this, with so many windows, and so many rooms. "I just came to see if you were feeling better." Kellie nodded, and gestured for Charlie to follow her back to the playroom, excited for someone to actually play with.

Charlie rolled his eyes good-naturedly, closed the door, and followed Kellie upstairs. When he reached the playroom, he grinned at what he saw. Placed around the tea table was a pretty brown haired porcelain doll in a white dress, seated at the table next to a stuffed teddybear draped in a purple blanket, with a green bow tied around his neck and a plastic orange cup perched on his head.

"That's Miss Lyssa and Mister Wonka," Kellie explained, sitting on a cushion while Charlie sat next to her, allowing her to pour him a cup of imaginary tea. Charlie felt an even stronger connection to the girl now that he realized that she wanted very much the same thing as he did: to make things better between Willy and Alyssa. "Miss Lyssa won't go back to see you, but I don't know why," Kellie said sadly, resting an elbow on the table. "I don't know whatsa matter, she's always sad,"

"So's Mister Wonka, I think," Charlie nodded, though it was much harder to tell with Willy Wonka, because he covered it so artfully with humor and wit, but it was still _there_. "He's always tired, and quiet."

"They love each other, huh?" Kellie asked quite plainly, picking up a teacup and lifting it to the doll's lips with a small sigh. "I can tell they do –"

"Who _loves_ each other?" came a voice in the doorway, and Kellie nearly screamed when she saw a figure in the doorway. Charlie immediately felt incredibly guilty, because he realized he had left the door unlocked – and now, the two children were met with the pearly, pasted on perma-grin of Cullen Calloway. "Oh, and Charlie Bucket!" he said with an exaggerated, open-armed gesture, then reached into his coat pocket. "Always a pleasure. Here –"

"No thanks," Charlie snapped, instinctively taking a very protective stance in front of Kellie while Cullen returned the proffered Calloway Bar to his pocket. "I'm not hungry – and you shouldn't be here."

"Has Miss Cabot come to visit you lately?" he asked, completely ignoring Charlie's suspicion as though he _owned_ this house and had every right to be in it.

"No." Kellie said, her normally angelic face going sour. "She's busy. Too busy for you, you _stinky –_"

"Busy doing _what_?" Cullen snapped, but Kellie merely pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed angrily. She shook her head and crossed her arms, refusing to speak a word to him. His face distorted, and he raised a hand abruptly. "Tell me where she's been, you little –"

"_Charlie_!" Kellie screamed, seeing Cullen's raised hand and grabbing onto the boy, clinging for dear life. Charlie placed an arm around her, and Cullen quickly lowered his hand, placing it behind his back.

"Leave, Mr. Calloway," Charlie said, his voice sounding much older and more mature than the tone in which he was accustomed to speaking. He felt terribly responsible for this, but at the same time, he was only glad that he'd _been_ there at all. "Or I'm going to call the police."

"Give my regards to William, boy," Cullen said with a condescending half-bow as he backed out of the room – it was clear that he would get no answers here, but he didn't look at all worried – Cullen Calloway was a master of timing, and of disappearing without a trace whenever he so chose. "He's _such_ a good sport."

And then he was gone, leaving Charlie and a very shaken Kellie in the playroom. Neither of the children was quite sure who to tell, but one thing was certain. Both hoped very much that Alyssa found whatever she was looking for, and that she'd find it before Cullen found _her_.

Cullen Calloway, however, had no intention of physically hurting anyone – far too messy, he reasoned. As he stepped back into his car and made the drive back to his flat. He did, however, want very much to speak to Miss Cabot to clear this mess up.

He had no attention of allowing Alyssa to walk away from their business arrangement so easily, and he was sure that she could be convinced to walk right back – her little fantasies about her dream shop were all well and good, but she would soon realize that these juvenile fancies didn't make a full stomach.

Cullen paced around his bedroom, pulling open the door to his large closet to admire his reflection in the mirror. He flashed a photo-ready smile, slicking back his hair – he never doubted for an instant that he could win over anyone wanted, professionally or romantically, and Alyssa Cabot was no exception. He'd read all the stories about himself in the tabloids, and unlike most other bits he read in those filthy publications, everything about him was true. He was a prick, a black sheep, and philanderer, but with his nigh endless supply of wealth, he felt no remorse for any of it.

He quickly went to the entire wall of stuffy, monochromatic business suits and ties in his closet – he had to look his best, he decided, at the Candymakers' Gala, where he would finally squash Willy Wonka and rise supremely above his once formidable competitor, once and for all. He'd succeeded in doing the impossible, and if Arthur Slugworth could see him now, the old man would be squirming in his breeches, seething with jealousy.

All Cullen lacked in his conquest now was Alyssa Cabot – he'd wanted to have the beautiful woman on his arm at the Gala to make his ascension over Wonka complete, but no matter. If she refused to show her face again, it was just as well. It didn't make his victory over Wonka any less sweet.

* * *

_A/N's_

_Ugh, I actually didn't like writing this chapter, and I was very close to cutting it out, but I wanted to make sure I got this particular scene in, because it's going to be somewhat important in the very end, which I already have part-written. I've also been putting a lot o thought into what my next project is going to be, and I'm thinking about hopping into a different genre for it. But again, that's an issue for later._

_**Lamminator**, I'm glad you decided to drop me a review! Hee! I'm trying to update at more frequent intervals lately, because I have more time to write now that my school semester is finally winding down. **Yva J. **, I agree – it's high time Willy and Alyssa made amends. Alyssa's finally through with her self-loathing and guilt bit for the most part, and Willy's dropped the anger but is still maintaining distance. I've always loved the way he maintained such composure and restraint, but I think I like analyzing his character by writing what happens when he restrains his emotions more than he ought to. **iCraft**, Yay! I love it when people appreciate the literary references, they're just so Willy-esque. I'm sorry for the lack of fluffy clouds in this chapter yet again, but the way I see it, I'm saving them up for the right moment. Hee!_

_Don't forget – reviews are always appreciated. They're what I live for, m'dears. Cheers!_


	21. Chapter 21

The Candymakers' Gala was the grandest guise, the highest to-do event of the year wherein the world's sugar entrepreneurs filled an entire grand ballroom, peppered with celebrities and news reporters from around the globe – an event so gaudy seemed incongruously paired with something and whimsical as candy. The event took place in a grand ballroom, complete with a central grand staircase and a chandelier. The entire venue was decked out for the day with rich colors and plush fabrics.

A soda pop fountain flowed at the same table as the chocolate fondue, and every glass was laced with sugar crystals – it was dentist's worst nightmare, and frankly, no one knew that better than Willy Wonka. Every year, it amused Willy to no end how – though no one knew – they attempted every year at this event to recreate what they probably assumed his factory would look like.

This year, however, Willy appeared and took no amusement at the contraptions the gala's facilitators managed to cook up, and he merely shuffled about to make the necessary niceties – it did not evade Willy that the same colleagues who in all the previous years had seemed to grovel at the recluse's feet now looked at him with the utmost pity, though none of them spoke of it. Every pat on the back or firm handshake held the message, '_It was nice knowing you, Wonka.'_ The only thing that made the entire horrid ordeal even worth the shame was the fact that Charlie, at the very least, had come along with him and held him with complete reverence. Now it was only Charlie who didn't seem to disdainfully notice that Willy was the most colorful character in the room, the only break from the flat muted hues that surrounded them.

Thankfully, Willy was given at least a momentary reprieve from small talking with his colleagues when a familiarly tall, svelte redhead took to the center podium. Shay was clad in an overly bejeweled, steel grey gown and a ridiculously tall hairdo, styled in a fashion that made it painfully clear that she was new money with the means to do so, yet no one seemed to mind. She tapped on the microphone and cleared her throat, placing a saccharine grin across her cheeks.

"Good evening," she said in a faulty attempt at sounding regal, "the owner of Scoopreme Sundaes on Delaney Street was scripted to be your master – or, mistress – of ceremonies this evening." Shay paused and allowed for the statement to sink in, fully aware that everyone expected Alyssa to be in her place. "And here she is!" she finished finally with a flourish. "Miss Cabot unfortunately will not be joining us this evening, but, as I'm sure my associate, Cullen Calloway, would say, the show must go on," she giggled with a sort of nonchalance that Willy of all people could tell was feigned. "I welcome you all, and I'll leave you to enjoy the refreshments until the presentation of the awards."

And just as easy as that, the room returned to its previous bustling. Willy had just gestured to Charlie that they step aside for a bit of air, only to find that they were stopped halfway across the room by none other than Cullen Calloway, dressed monochromatically as usual. He gave Charlie a toothy grin with oddly raised eyebrows, and the young boy gave an uneasy gulp.

"Mr. William Wonka," Cullen grinned stiffly, offering a hand for a handshake as Willy winced at being referred to by his given name. "Cullen Calloway."

"Pleasure, _always_ a pleasure," Willy said casually, reverting back to his presentation-only half-smile.  
"It's good to know you're not a sore loser, William." Calloway guffawed, pulling back his hand and crossing his arms, puffing himself up haughtily. "It appears my new formula has them _hooked_."

"Indeed," Willy grinned, though a glance at the side of his face made it clear that he was smiling with great concentrated effort through clenched teeth. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in swapping recipes over tea?"

"Going down with a laugh," Calloway chuckled shaking his head, taking a step away from Willy to leave now that he'd done his intended deed of riling him up a bit. "Humor's a good trait to have. You're a good man, Wonka," he huffed somewhat condescendingly as he turned on his heel and walked away.

"Only wish I could say the same, Calloway," Willy chirped in a sing-song voice under his breath. He looked down at Charlie, who still looked a bit perturbed at the encounter, and the two continued their trek outside. When the two arrived at the main entrance hall, however, they were met with a rather unexpected sight: a small girl dressed in a candyfloss pink party dress was twirling around in front of the large mirror situated by the entrance to the ladies' lounge.

"Kellie?" Charlie called out, the girl grinned, running over and hugging the boy, then Willy in turn – this, no doubt, was the first time this evening Willy was actually glad to be greeted by anyone. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh –" Kellie said, thinking for a brief few seconds, then grinning at the two with a tiny twinkle in her eye. "I just thought it would be fun," she giggled, digging the toe of her patent leather shoe into the carpet. "I've never been to a party like this before!" she yipped, give a whimsical little spin in her dress.

"You know you can't be in here by yourself," Willy said, raising his eyebrows knowingly, though the look was void of any annoyance – quite the contrary, he was glad to see someone being truly genuine in this place. Heaven knew he hadn't yet tonight.

"Oh, but I'm not!" Kellie said excitedly, though when she realized what she'd said, her eyes went wide and she clapped a hand over her mouth, glancing briefly over to the ladies' lounge. Seeing the girl's wandering gaze, Willy had every intention of asking about it, but Shay's voice once again was heard from the inside of the ballroom, signaling the start of the awards presentation, and tactful etiquette required Willy to be present. Kellie wrinkled her nose in amusement, and Willy felt a stab of affection for the fact that Alyssa had a habit of doing the exact same thing, she always had when she knew something that no one else did. The little girl pushed Willy and Charlie back into the ballroom, just as the awards started being present.

Willy obligingly tipped his top hat and gave a few polite golfclaps at each award presented – he silently mused about golfclaps, and the fact that he'd never played golf, because it was terribly boring. _Terribly._

Quite similarly to this ceremony, he mused also.

It was all the same business as Willy had heard at this place every year, and only now was he realizing how pointless his presence seemed to be.

"And finally," Shay said, her smile widening into an all-out beam as she placed a large crystal statuette onto the podium, taking a card from beneath it, "I'd like to present the most prestigious award of the night – the Ambrosia Award, which will go to the top seller of the year from the entire candymaking world. And the award goes to –" Shay paused, as though there could be any question as to who the winner would be. "Cullen Calloway!"

The room erupted in hurrahs and cheers and haughty claps and whoops as Cullen Calloway stepped up to the podium, the perma-grin still locked inextricably onto his face. He took the award and gave Shay a wink, then tipped the microphone upward to say the usual, trite words of gratitude that everyone knew he didn't feel.

"Mr. Calloway," said a grinning young reporter in the front row of the crowd. 'What is it about Calloway Chocolates that keeps everyone coming back for more?"

Calloway chuckled heartily into the microphone and clicked his tongue, winking at the crowd. "Magic, I suppose – don't you watch the commercials?" he joked, leaning forward onto the podium and making himself comfortable and basking in the attention, purposefully giving a cocky glance in Willy Wonka's direction. "And the thing about magic is that I really couldn't tell you –"

_"Oh, but I can."_

The attention of the room was shifted to the source of the voice, standing at the top of the grand staircase. A woman dressed in a royal purple, floor-length gown, with her hair upswept smoothly at the nape of her neck had entered, and immediately had the room enthralled. She was obviously from a family of influence, and had a fair bit more class in her upbringing than the woman who'd been hosting the event thus far – indeed, Shay looked at the woman with an expression of mixed surprise, revulsion, and humiliation as she realized how very foolish she must have looked, coifed like an overgrown peacock. Cullen's lips tightened as he stared at the woman who had dared to interrupt his moment of glory, and his grip on the podium tightened as he realized who the woman was – she looked quite different when she was cleaned up.

"Miss Lyssa!" Kellie cheered jovially, jumping and waving her arms in the air as Alyssa began to descend the staircase – she gave Kellie a pearly grin and a wink as she passed.

Willy had unknowingly had his eyes trained on Alyssa from the minute she first appeared on those stairs, and he couldn't help but feel his stomach tighten at how stunning she looked, however simple her appearance may have been. He allowed himself a momentary lopsided grin at the idea that perhaps his own favorite colour had influenced her choice of attire. He couldn't speak to her, his pride would not allow it, but looking as grand and elegant as she did, and bearing the expression he had always come to – to _love_ – his heart gave a long-suppressed _kathump-kathump_ as he realized that in this moment, he couldn't for the life of him muster an ounce of anger towards her.

Alyssa stopped just short of the stage where the podium was situated, looked Cullen Calloway briefly in the eye with a small devilish smirk, and turned toward the anxious audience. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said, her voice carrying clearly throughout the room, and Willy mused at how well she had remembered the things she had been forced learn at the charm school of Oscar Jarvis Academy. "Calloway Chocolates do indeed have a secret that keeps you _coming back for more_, but I can assure you, it's not magic. Mr. Calloway, it appears, has made an incredibly _daring_ business venture," Alyssa said, stepping aside slightly and briefly gave Cullen a sidelong glance – he now looked as though his collar was a bit too tight, his jaw was clenched and he was practically petrified at the podium. After a good while's pause, Alyssa opened her clutch purse and pulled out a small vial filled with a bright green liquid and held it up to the audience. The room seemed to hustle to stand on its toes and see.

"_This_ is the secret to the success of Calloway Chocolates," she said, her voice rising in volume to make sure it fell on no deaf ears. "It is an insoluble nicotine based compound not divulged on the label: very addictive, and very _illegal_," Alyssa said, her voice turning sharp at the very last word to make sure the point was piercingly lucid. A collective gasp ran through the room, and the crowd compacted in order to hustle closer to Alyssa. Kellie gave a yelp as she was pushed along about because of her small size, but Charlie managed to take a hold of her hand to make sure they didn't lose her.

Willy stared on with an unreadable expression, brow furrowed and lips slightly parted – he knew why Alyssa had done this, but now that it was _done_, he could hardly bring himself to admit that he had been wrong in underestimating her character. Willy very much disliked being wrong, even more than he hated being interrupted.

"You have all been subjected to drug exposure," Alyssa continued, and eyes shifted angrily towards Calloway, who's eyes darted around as he seemed to be looking for somewhere to run, only to find that every path to the exit was covered by the swarm of people now completely focused on Alyssa Cabot. "As we speak, steps are being taken with the Food and Drug Administration toward a total recall of _all_ Calloway products," she said, then looked back at Cullen with a tiny smirk, "Along with total reimbursement of all customers, out of the pocket of none other than Mister Calloway himself, who will face a formidable fine, and the possibility of incarceration." Alyssa paused and stepped up onto the small stage and pulled the statuette out of Cullen's hands with a mighty tug, then looked at Shay, who looked at Alyssa with a look of complete humiliation. Alyssa gave her head a slight, nigh imperceptible shake, then nudged her way past Cullen to the microphone at the podium.

"Therefore," Alyssa said, making sure she still had the room's rapt attention. "It is my pleasure to present the Ambrosia Award to its rightful owner for the seventh year running, the highest grossing seller by scrupulous means," she paused, and gave a glance at one person in particular clad in the purple coat she had very much been fond of. " –_Mister Willy Wonka_."

The crowd erupted into victorious cheers and Willy, after a brief incredulous pause at the night's turn of events, strode up to the stage and to the podium. He placed his hand on the base of the crystal statuette, a grin spreading across his face, but as he looked Alyssa in the eyes, it finally hit him that he could not have done this without her. He could no longer blame her, he decided, for a mistake that she had now more than atoned for. Willy gathered up his resolution in that tiny millisecond and leaned forward to kiss her – even Willy, the recluse that he was, didn't give a damn that the press was having a frenzy clicking photos at the four on the stage: Willy Wonka, Alyssa Cabot, Shannen O'Shaugnessy, and Cullen Calloway.

Alyssa's gaze, however, fell away timidly and before Willy moved more than an inch closer to her, she turned and slowly began to walk away, an action which Willy did not understand. Before he could think to stop her, however, Cullen Calloway blocked her way, his face stiff and blank. Behind the podium so no one could see, Calloway took a firm hold of Alyssa's forearm, staring down at her.

"You're a foolish woman, Cabot," he seethed.

"And you're a penniless man, Calloway. I do hope you brought your checkbook," Alyssa smirked, pulling her arm away from his grasp and glancing out at the audience, which resembled a pack of lions, ready to pounce. "It appears some unhappy customers want their money back." She gave him a sardonic wink, quite pleased at the sour glare on his face, and cocked her head upwards, brushing past him.

As the crowd began to close in on Calloway, Alyssa attempted to scuttle away for the door, only to be stopped yet again by Kellie and Charlie, both looking incredibly pleased by the turn of events.

"Miss Alyssa," Charlie said with a polite, grateful smile, and she couldn't resist the urge to kiss the sweet angel of a boy on the forehead. He was so kind, she thought, and so strong to maintain his kindness in the face of all the things surrounding him.

"Oh, Charlie!" she doted, giving the boy a warm hug with one arm and gracefully embracing Kellie with the other. "It's so good to see you again. Congratulations on your big win," she beamed, her laugh tinkling pleasantly amidst the noise.

"So things are going to be normal again, aren't they?" Charlie asked expectantly, and Alyssa felt a bit of her heart drop a Charlie continued with so much hope in his eyes. "You and Mr. Wonka are going to make up, and you can come back to the shop, and –"

"Charlie," she interrupted gently, and at this, both Kellie and Charlie looked at Alyssa in surprise and disappointment. "It's too late, Willy and I, we can't – I did this because it was the right thing," she finished, forcing herself to look calm for the children's sake regardless of the fact that they were asking her the very same questions she'd been asking herself for a few days now.

"But, he'll want you to come back, I know it!" Charlie said, his hope shifting quickly to franticness, taking a slight hold onto Alyssa's forearm. Alyssa felt a bit yanked on from both ends as Kellie did the same on her other arm. "And ma misses having another woman to talk to, Grandpa Joe misses having someone to play poker with – everything's okay now! How about yours and Mister Wonka's invention –"

"It's not that simple," Alyssa sighed, attempting to keep her attitude up regardless of the fact that the disappointment in these two wonderful children's eyes was starting to tear away at her. "Things are never that simple."

"Oh, aren't they?" came a bright voice behind her, the one person that stood a chance of breaking Alyssa's resolve to stay away. She turned around, and found that Willy, with the statuette still in hand, had managed to tear away from the photographers and meet with the others in the middle of the ballroom, away from the hullabaloo of the crowd haranguing Cullen Calloway.

"Willy," she said, unable to resist from smiling a bit at the proximity between his wonderful purple coat and the purple dress she'd chosen for the evening because it seemed appropriate. She blushed a bit, and murmured, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," he said, tipping his top hat and taking her hand quite endearingly. "And, not just for the congratulations."

"I was just doing the right thing," she repeated, still smiling, but reluctantly sliding her hand gently out of his. "Please don't thank me, I've done a lot I ought to be sorry for –"

"I think you've done enough," Willy interrupted with a mild chuckle, raising a hand gently to silence her, and quite effectively doing so. Alyssa wasn't quite sure what to think – her plan had consisted of Willy still being angry with her, refusing to speak with her. Not this. "You've left your shop," Willy said, rather than asking. Alyssa merely smiled and nodded.

"It was time," she said simply. "It just wasn't right anymore."

"Then what _is _right, at this particular point in time?" he asked with a small grin, a twinkle reappearing in his eye for the first time in a considerable while.

Alyssa opened her mouth to answer but found she had nothing to say that fit along with the way she had planned for this evening to go. She glanced up at the grandfather clock in the corner, then down at Kellie. "I ought to get you back home, it's awfully late for someone so young," she said.

Kellie looked at Charlie, then between Willy and Alyssa with a bit of sadness in her eyes.

"But Miss Lyssa, I want you to go with Mister Wonka," she pleaded, wide eyes batting directly at Alyssa, who felt it stab her to the very core. She sighed, kneeling down in front of Kellie.

"A lot of things are going to happen now – I need to stay here," Alyssa said. "Mr. Calloway isn't going to let us off easy, I need to make sure everything's alright."

"But Mister Wonka would make everything alright…" Kellie said, though a slight yawn betrayed that fact that she was indeed very tired and needed to go home.

"I know he would," Alyssa said knowingly, glancing up briefly into Willy's eyes. "But I want to make things right for myself first," she said. Alyssa pursed her lips in anticipation, not really wanting to see what response would elicit from Willy, but he merely nodded, the twinkle in his eye saddening a bit. "When the time is right," she said with a simple nod before taking Kellie by the hand and walking the sleepy girl back out to the car.

When the two had left, Charlie looked up at his mentor. "Mister Wonka?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. But before Willy could even feign the response that he felt fine, Cullen Calloway ran brusquely past them towards the exit, pausing only for a moment to glare at the two before making a getaway from his former doting colleagues.

"Come on, Charlie," Willy said, placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder, though the glance at Calloway's retreating silhouette mirrored the concern he held for whatever was coming. "We have a lot of work to do."

_A/N's_

_My gosh. That was one of the most difficult things to write so far, and it took a few tries to get it just the way I wanted. But it's finally here! Aren't you proud? I also like this chapter because it's one of the few where I actually write out one long, continuous scene. And it's long - a good thousand words longer than many of my other chapters. Hee!_

_**iCraft, **__I hope I'm not torturing you too much by not having Willy and Alyssa back together, so to speak, but I'll make up for it soon! __**Yva J.,**__ this chapter took me a bit, but I've finally restored order to the cycle of updating in the Wonka fandom, haha. I like the dynamic between Charlie and Kellie too, because they're sort of the angels on Willy and Alyssa's shoulders. __**Jimmy-WonderBoyOncologist**__, you were incredibly dead on with your prediction! And thanks to my newest reviewer, __**haha21**__. I hope any other readers out there follow suit and review as well, even if just to get your name into the author's notes. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but until then, cheers!_


	22. Chapter 22

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

The words 'so help you God' were terrifying and intimidating to a girl who could count her age on her fingers and still have fingers to spare. Kellie glanced fearfully towards Alyssa Cabot, then to Charlie and Mr. Willy Wonka seated in the benches across from her. Alyssa dodged the gaze of these two males just as desperately as Kellie dodged the gaze of Cullen Calloway himself.

"I – I do." Kellie nodded simply, her young and innocent eyes set on telling exactly what she'd promised, the truth.

Alyssa Cabot couldn't imagine what she'd done even months after she'd already done the damage – or, more appropriately, undone the damage that had been created when she'd been blissfully ignorant in the Wonderland known as the Wonka Factory. Now, Cullen Calloway was on trial for poisoning thousands, perhaps _millions_ of people worldwide, and while it was Kellie on the stand at the moment, all of the reporters knew that Alyssa Cabot, former owner of Scoopreme Sundaes on Delaney Street and rumored flame of William Wonka himself, was the star witness, set to testify tomorrow.

Alyssa could tell the truth – she'd told it to far more people than this, right to Cullen Calloway's face with no one to stop him from shutting her mouth on the spot. Surely it would be no problem now.

Except, Alyssa told herself, that this time she would be terribly aware of a particular chocolatier's focused, cool blue eyes that would be on her the whole time, the thought of which unnerved her even more than the idea of damning Cullen Calloway to his face. Again.

After what felt like an eternity of testimony, court was called to recess for the night, and all of the witnesses were taxied over to a hotel to be housed for security purposes until the trial was over. After being handed her room key, Alyssa walked into the elevator with her overnight bag, thankful that it was empty and she had a moment to be alone with her thoughts. The doors were just about shut when a gloved hand reached out and pushed the door back open – there was no need to even look up in order to deduce to whom the hand belonged.

"Come now, Charlie, we – _oh_." Willy said as he caught sight of who else was in the same elevator car. "Well, fancy that," he said with that unsettlingly calm smile that Alyssa knew all too well. He continued to whistle a bit of a tune as he and Charlie stepped into the elevator, and Alyssa fought back a smile at seeing him content again. She hadn't seen him that way since…

…since before she'd left.

"Lovely mess we've gotten into, isn't it?" Willy said as the doors of the elevator finally slid completely shut. "Reminds me a bit of old times."

"Not the best bit of nostalgia I've experienced. A bit more stressful, this is." Alyssa said frankly, albeit with a bit of stiffness at the casual nature of this conversation. It all seemed so natural, and that, to Alyssa, was very much _un_natural. Charlie, however, was glowing at the fact that Miss Lyssa and Mister Wonka were speaking to one another. They hadn't so much as exchanged a 'hello' since the Gala, and to Charlie, this was a good sign.

"It's a very nice elevator," Willy said as the car gave a slight lurch upward; he glanced around and eyed the panel of buttons and lights. Noting Alyssa's silence, and fighting back the fact that through said silence, he could still hear a none-too-faint '_kathump_' in his chest, he added, "Though I'll admit I'd be mildly offended if you don't say you like the Wonkavator more."

"Goes without saying, doesn't it?" Alyssa said with a small smile that she could no longer manage to hide; she convinced herself that it was merely nice to be spoken to kindly after a whole day of hearing attorneys and reporters barking questions without the slightest bit of pleasantry whatsoever. "That view – it's not something I'll be quick to forget."

"Indeed," Willy said, though unbeknownst to Alyssa, who was staunch in her focus on the door, the ceiling, and anything but her companions in the elevator, his gaze was trained on a very different view. "It's absolutely silly what they're doing with this case, isn't it?"

"I do wish they'd hurry up and get it over with – Kellie absolutely loathes it," Alyssa said plainly, speaking with a soft frankness that Willy wanted very much to forget his fondness for. "It's really of no consequence to me if I say everything I said at the Gala as many times as they want, but she's just a child."

Willy was unable to craft a response to this question that would reflect some sort of indifference – in fact, he was anything but indifferent, and wanted very much to see Alyssa _smile_ again, even if only for his own selfish sense of comfort that things were returning to the way they ought to have been. Charlie, too, was too confused by the tone of the exchange to interject in the fashion he normally would. However, he was saved from having to do anything as the elevator stopped with a ping and the chrome doors slid open.

"Same floor?" Alyssa asked politely, to which the fact that the three of them exited the elevator together was ample reply. Quietly walking down the hall and glancing at the room numbers, they paused at their respective doors, blinking slightly upon realizing that they were right next door to one another.

"Well, you'd best get your rest," Willy said politely, ushering Charlie into the room which left him and Alyssa alone in the hallway, which seemed a bit drafty due to the open window at the very end – Alyssa was thankful for it, or she would have been burning up and beet red at this situation. "Tomorrow's a tiring day of –"

"Of more of the same," Alyssa said with a lopsided grin as she slowly opened her door, timidly looking Willy in the eye for the first time in recent memory. "Aren't you excited? This is all going to be over soon,"

"Over, not better." Willy said simply. "Things have complicated themselves terribly as of late, haven't they?"

Alyssa paused and thought a bit, still looking at Willy. Only now had she considered that to Willy, this change was still just as terrifying as the fear of losing the Wonka empire altogether. William Wonka had never been one to look fondly upon change of any sort.

"That's always been my intention, though," Alyssa said quietly, looking away towards the window at the end of the hall, focusing on the fluttering curtains as though something had just brushed against them, anything to distract her from Willy's intent gaze. "To make things the way they were for you. Maybe for me too," she finished quietly, looking Willy in the eye one final time, long enough to see his eyes cloud over and his Adam's apple rise in a slight gulp as though she'd tugged the rug beneath him. "Goodnight, Willy," she said quietly, reaching out and brushing the back of her hand against Willy's and stepping into her room before he had a chance to respond.

_Damn you_, Alyssa said to herself as she dropped her bag and strode over toward the washroom, hoping to wash away this entire day, this entire month, this entire year… _What did you tell him that for? _

Alyssa wasn't sure how long she remained in the shower, only that it was long enough for her fingers to grow a bit pruney, and that it was long enough for her to convince herself that regardless of whatever inconvenient feelings she may have been in possession of, it was best for Willy if she didn't turn his world upside down yet again.

Wrapping herself in a towel, Alyssa stepped out of the washroom and towards the bag she'd placed on the bed to retrieve a clean set of clothes to sleep in, only to find that some of her clothes were strewn on the bed in a fashion which she was sure she had not left them in.

"I fancy the red get-up the best," came a quiet, guttural voice from the corner. Clutching the towel tightly to her chest, Alyssa whirled around and gasped when she found herself facing Cullen Calloway, complete with prison jumpsuit.

"How – how did you…" Alyssa said quietly, gaze drifting towards the door.

"It's locked," Cullen said knowingly, taking a few menacing steps towards her and knowing full well how vulnerable she felt in this moment. "It's amazing what a personal check can buy from a warden. Letting me out for a walk. After all, I'm not _dangerous_," Cullen said with a wicked grin as he stood mere inches from Alyssa, who was backed against the bed.

"What do you want?" Alyssa spat vehemently, sounding and looking far braver than she actually felt.

"Why so hostile, sweetest?" Cullen chuckled darkly, eyes narrowing as he traced a finger down her cheek in a manner she frankly found obscene and revolting. "I was under the impression that you enjoyed chocolatiers."

"Don't _touch_ me!" she spat, attempting to slap him across the face, only to find Cullen's large hand wrapping around her wrist and all but throwing her against the wall. Alyssa crumpled weakly to the floor, only barely managing to maintain her decency in only a bath towel. Cullen stalked over towards her, kneeling on the floor next to her and touching her face again.

"Don't get too full of yourself," he said with a dark chuckle at the fact that Alyssa's eyes were clenched shut in sheer terror. "I merely came to tell you that I encourage you very strongly to _lie_ tomorrow on the stand. Tell them you've been lying this whole time."

"It's too late, everyone knows," Alyssa winced. "They've seen enough –"

"But if their star witness backs down, who are they to say it wasn't all a sham –"

"You're the sham, Calloway," Alyssa said, managing to open her eyes and stare him straight in the face.

"Very well," he smirked, a mirthless expression that gave Alyssa the sort of chills one felt at the worst part of a horror movie. "I'm merely here to advise you, my dear – it's of no consequence to me. I won't be put in just any, filthy prison, in any case, whatever the verdict. But if I ever come out, I'll be by to collect," he smirked. Glancing at the clock as though it made a modicum of a difference, he gave an overdramatic sigh. "Would you look at the time? It appears my walk has run a bit long."

Alyssa expected him to climb out the window, or to run through a vent, but apparently, Cullen Calloway hid from no one. Cullen Calloway was not a man to feel shame of any sort. With a final chortle, he stood upright, turned on his heel and strode out the door.

As soon as the silhouette of his shadow disappeared, Alyssa did something that she had refused to do for – for _always_. The sobs began to wrack her small, cold form as she clutched the towel tightly around herself, not caring that the door was wide open. Hot tears cascaded down her face, and the breaths escaping her lips were heavy and pained. She didn't sense footsteps approaching, or the sensation of a warm hand on her bare shoulder until a familiar voice interrupted her sobs.

Willy had heard the loud thud against the wall of the adjacent room and had come equipped with a playful retort about the noise and her odd sleeping habits, only to hear a very unfamiliar sound. Alyssa Cabot wasn't sleeping.

She was _crying_.

Willy felt a twinge of terrible hurt when she flinched away from his hand on her shoulder, and he felt mildly afraid of seeing her tear-blotched face. The thought of Alyssa Cabot, the reckless, blunt, and sometimes strange young woman he had known since he was a boy, feeling fear was enough to instill a sense of fear in his own heart.

"He was here," Alyssa said, rubbing fiercely at her reddened eyes. "Calloway – he said if I didn't lie tomorrow – he – he's going to –"

"Enough," Willy said gently – selfish as it was, he simply he couldn't bear to hear any more of Alyssa sounding this way. He could imagine what Cullen Calloway had threatened, in any case, and while earlier in the day Calloway had been a mere nuisance, Willy now saw him as far more. He had threatened Alyssa, threatened something good and kind and sweet. He may as well have threatened Willy's entire world –

And in that moment, Willy realized that by threatening Alyssa Cabot, Calloway _had_ threatened his world.

"I'll protect you," Willy said, unsure of what else to tell Alyssa right now. These sorts of moments were clearly not his forte, and even his usual frankness felt strange. "Just the way I protect the Oompa Loompas. I've never let anything happen to them –"

"_I don't want to be an Oompa Loompa_."

After that statement, the sobs stopped; Alyssa looked up at Willy after a brief pause and realized that he was having quite a difficult time trying not to laugh. The corners of her mouth began quirking upward irresistibly until finally, a familiar laugh escaped her lips and she clutched the towel more tightly around her.

The towel, she thought.

"Willy, Ihaven'tgotanyclotheson," she said very rapidly, going a bit pink in the face. Willy merely gave a chuckle and closed his eyes, allowing Alyssa to scamper over to the bed and tug a dressing robe from her bag.

"I'm scared we're going to lose the case," Alyssa said frankly, fastening the tie of her robe and tapping Willy on the shoulder to indicate that he could open his eyes. "Cullen has friends in high places – I doubt he's hesitated in calling every single one of them." Alyssa took a deep breath and made sure to be looking straight at Willy for the next statement. "We both know that not everyone is as good as you are."

"Nor as you," Willy said simply. "But that's very much out of our control, isn't it?"

"If he goes free, I'm not sure what he's capable of, he'll find me _anywhere_," Alyssa said rubbing her forehead and combing her hand through her wet hair.

An idea came to Willy – of course, not out of any sort of expectations, he told himself, but out of concern for a dear friend. He himself did not care if Cullen Calloway went free or not as long as his wrongdoings were exposed, except for the fact that he believed in vengeance, something very foreign to Willy.

"If Cullen Calloway goes free, you'll come back to the factory," he said, his voice very frank with a well-hidden twinge of hope, hope for something he'd waited for since he first saw Alyssa Cabot from between the grates in the closet door of his father's office. _To hope and not be impatient,_ Willy inexplicably told himself, _is really to believe_. (1)

"Willy, I don't know if I can accept that –"

"I don't believe I meant it as a request," Willy said adamantly, taking a hold of Alyssa's hand; she looked down at their intertwined fingers as though she'd just received an electric shock. Hadn't she planned for the trial to simply end, and then for herself to let Willy go forever? Hadn't that been the design she'd laid out, to allow herself to atone for betraying Willy and returning to her shop, after promising he'd not have to face anything alone?

Seeing the hesitation in Alyssa's eyes, Willy's gaze seemed to glaze over a bit as the characteristic, guarded smile returned to his face. "Only for your safety, of course," he added, though his voice was clearly different. "Only if it's necessary, if Cullen's freedom will not allow you to return to your – your _real _life." Alyssa allowed herself a breath, while Willy felt his throat close painfully around the final few words.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She paused, briefly scrutinizing Willy's features, and as if Willy were afraid she'd be too well able to read him, he turned his face a way, hesitantly letting go of her hand.

"Well then – I suppose we'll be rising before the sun tomorrow. À demain," Willy said, giving an incline of his head, pausing as if to think, then leaning forward and placing a kiss on her cheek. Alyssa's eyes fluttered shut as his lips lingered close to her for a moment, and she felt a twinge of fear - or was it anticipation - that he was going to kiss her, but when she opened her eyes, Willy had gone.

* * *

_A/N's_

_(1) "The Adventures of Harry Richmond" by George Meredith_

_Hey guys! I know, I've been MIA for over 6 months with this story – life's been very hectic. Since my last update, I've gotten married, my husband has deployed to Iraq, I've moved to a new house, and caught bronchitis. Then, there were the holidays of course. But you've all been kind enough to drop me a line once in a while and remind me that I still have readers. Hopefully you're all still around!_

_In any case, this story is nearly finished, just a few loose ends left – maybe a couple of you are wanting Cullen Calloway to go free just to get Willy and Alyssa to shack up again? Shame! Well, anyway, will a jury find Cullen guilty and give our hero and heroine a reason to go their separate ways? Stay tuned._

_Anyway, after I've finished with this, I think I'm going to be working on a story in another genre, but I haven't made up my mind on that one yet. I'll let you guys know - but I'd also like to know what other genres all of you are interested in. Just a forewarning, it most definitely won't be based on the 'Twilight' series. Nothing against it, but my friends have been trying desperately to get me to warm up to it, and it really hasn't worked._

_Cheers!_


	23. Chapter 23

Alyssa Cabot was fairly sure that if things continued in quite this way for much longer, she would have no fingernails left to gnaw off. How long did it take a jury to deliberate a verdict, she wondered quite childishly, when all the evidence was right in front of them?

"The suspense is terrible," Willy chuckled, almost to himself, the way many of his comments were in such tense times. "I hope it lasts."

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said carefully, tugging on his mentor's coat sleeve. "Miss Cabot looks – she looks sort of sick," he pointed out. And sure enough, when Willy turned around to see where Alyssa was sitting with Kellie, she looked quite pale. Actually, in the current lighting, she looked almost candy apple green.

For a brief moment, Willy considered going over to speak with her – it would do no harm, after all, to be amiable, especially when she had done so much for them. However, just as he'd lifted his foot to take a step across the room, a female voice rang out from the doorway.

"I think they'll be ready for us soon," Shay said, looking rather uncomfortable speaking to everyone in the room – she'd given testimony the previous day against Cullen Calloway, but had since been pummeled with accusations that she'd done it only to save her own skin.

Alyssa stared quietly at her former business partner, her former best friend, and nodded, walking over and patting the taller woman on the shoulder.

"You did the right thing, Shay," she said simply, though her voice acked the sort of warmth it once possessed when speaking to her old friend. Very un-Alyssa, Willy noted to himself, unknowingly appraising her every move. "We can only hope for the best."

"Excuse me," said one member of the legal counsel, peering outside into the waiting foyer, and everyone seemed to participate in a collective gasp. "I think we're about ready –"

"Let's go!" Kellie said loudly, pulling Alyssa's arm with a great tug – the young woman wouldn't budge.

"I'm going to stay out here," she said in a tight voice, the glimmer of fear very evident in her eyes. "Kellie, honey, go inside with Charlie and Mr. Wonka –"

"I'll see to it she doesn't scurry off to her mousehole, Kellie, worry not," Willy said, suddenly striding up beside Alyssa. "Charlie, see your young friend inside, will you?" Kellie very willingly let go of Alyssa's hand in favor of Charlie's, and the two disappeared through the courtroom doors, ducking between the knees of a sea of reporters.

"What if – Willy, what if he wins? What if they don't find him guilty, and he –"

"Then he goes free," Willy said simply. "He goes free, and our arrangement proceeds as discussed. What they choose is out of our control, is it not?" In truth, it was not quite so simple – but for Willy, it was the simplest way to view things.

"What if – everything I've done is all for nothing?" Alyssa continued almosgt hysterically. "What if I've just ruined everything? Threw everything away, ruined my life, my career – and for _this_?" Alyssa said, running a hand through her hair.

"You gave a doddery old chocolatier back his livelihood – while I'm clearly biased, I don't consider that synonymous with _nothing_," Willy pointed out with a sage smirk. Alyssa looked up at him questioningly, her eyes for once not clouded over with the air of someone trying to act older or wiser than they really felt. She looked as though she were going to say something – Willy _knew_ that expression. Strangely expectant, he found the back of his gloved hand brushing against hers, and she took his hand without hesitation.

Alyssa took a breath, her lips parting slightly as though the words were clinging to her tongue, reluctant to come out. Willy's breath caught, he gave Alyssa's hand a slight squeeze –"

"We've won! Miss Lyssa, Mister Wonka, we won!"

Alyssa jumped, quickly letting go of Willy's hand as Kellie came bounding out through the wooden doors. For a moment, Alyssa merely stared at the little girl in disbelief. When Kellie stopped in front of Alyssa, she placed her hands on the child's shoulders.

"Come again?" Alyssa asked, though a vague smile was already playing on her lips. Kellie beamed.

"We won! They took Mister Calloway away – even ask Charlie!" Kellie yelped, just as Charlie strode out of the courtroom to join them, followed a few steps by the mass of spectators, witnesses, and reporters that had waited so long for this verdict.

Alyssa stood up, placing a hand on her chest and not speaking, clearly in a stated of elated shock – and then without warning, she did a quick spin and threw her arms around Willy who had been standing behind her; she began sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

"Oh, I can't believe it – we did it!" Alyssa said tearfully, hugging Willy tightly, and with how suddenly the action had been, Willy thought of nothing better to do in reaction than to return the embrace, slowly rubbing the small of her back. Meanwhile, the cameras behind them began clicking and flashing away at the sight.

"I knew we would," Willy said – hearing his voice seemed to bring Alyssa slightly back to reality, as she took that moment to step away, flushing brightly. "And now – you can return to your life. Before the factory – it's exactly what you wanted. Come, Charlie."

Alyssa froze – was this really what she wanted? To go back to the life she had planned, but planned without any regard as to whether or not the path led to her happiness, or anyone else's.

"Yes," she answered, before she could stop the damned word from escaping her lips. Kellie and Charlie both looked dumbstruck, but Willy merely gave a lopsided smile, placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder and began steering him towards the exit.

"Lyss, you're mad."

Alyssa turned around in surprise, and found herself looking at Shay, and shook her head as though Shay were speaking a foreign language. Shay, who had been the strongest proponent for Alyssa to forget about Willy and run the ice cream parlour under Cullen Calloway's watch, was calling her mad?

"You're the best person I know. You're a saint," Shay said with a small laugh, noting the confused look on Alyssa's face. "But you didn't do all this just because it was the right thing, did you?"

Alyssa froze. She had told herself all this time, of course, that she was only doing the right thing, so she could move on without baggage. But she had done this for the sake of young girls like Kellie who wanted to believe in goodness, for people who _allowed_ children to believe that goodness and happiness could still be pure and unpretentious. She had done this because she herself still wanted to believe in goodness.

She had done this because she still believed in _Willy_.

"Wait!" Alyssa said, loudly, and only then did she realize how otherwise silent the room had become during the exchange. Caution thrown to the wind, Alyssa ran forward, and took Willy by the hand. The look on her face was strange, like someone externally hysterically, but internally, perfectly serene.

Willy, on the other hand, was for once unsure of how to respond.

"I – I want to go home," Alyssa said with a watery smile, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks. "To _my_ home. With you, and with Charlie. Where I belong. If you'll have me."

Willy felt the kathump-kathump in his chest burst out beyond hope of restraint – perhaps, he mused to himself as a smile played on his mouth, his heart had just exploded from the rush of surprise and confusion and _joy_ that Alyssa had just infused into it.

And there, with the flashbulbs and the chatter and Kellie screaming and hugging Charlie out of sheer joy, Willy kissed her. And even with the knowledge that this would be on the front page of the papers by the afternoon, Sunday at the latest, and that she had nothing else in her life planned out from this point on, Alyssa returned the kiss with equal fervor.

The kiss was only broken when Kellie, in her extreme enthusiasm, began hugging Alyssa's legs from behind, nearly knocking her over but only succeeding in knocking her clean into Willy's arms. Charlie came forward as well – the four laughed at the absolute frivolity of the situation, and how they all must have looked, embracing and laughing like a bunch of fools.

It was perfect.

"I'm – I'm just going to take Kellie home," Alyssa said, attempting to regain her composure. "Her parents are out of town again, and I don't think –"

"I could take her," Charlie said with a kind smile.

"Oh, please, please!" little Kellie squealed excitedly. "Can he? Please?" Alyssa laughed – actually, she could hardly _stop_ laughing, even if she tried at the moment. "Please, Miss Lyssa, I promise we'll go straight home!"

"Oh, alright," Alyssa conceded, then glanced over her shoulder towards Willy. "Home, then?"

"Home." Willy agreed with a nod.

As Willy and Alyssa departed for the glass elevator, Kellie grabbed Charlie's hand and they skipped out the front doors, down the street. Kellie's home was a good hour's walk, but they were happy enough to take it.

Kellie spent a good twenty or thirty minutes recounting stories about the old sundae shoppe Alyssa used to run – but the way the stories of little girls often go, it took a very short time for the conversation to change into something very different.

"—And Miss Lyssa bought me a pretty new dress for the Gala! Oh, Charlie, she was so excited to see you and Mr. Wonka again. I promised I wouldn't tell – but it's alright now, isn't it?" Kellie babbled happily as she and Charlie walked down the road.

"I think so, Kellie," Charlie said happily – both children were still wearing immensely pleased expressions at the fact that Alyssa and Willy had finally decided to stop what they considered a very silly argument.

"We'll get to see one another all the time now," Kellie continued blithely, turning around and beginning to skip backwards down the sidewalk as the entered her neighborhood. "We will, won't we, Charlie? You're my very best friend!" she said, wrapping her arms around Charlie. Stopping in front of a house abruptly, Kellie looked up at the windows and noticed a light on – her face lit up even more.

"Mum and Dad are home from business early!" she squealed in mirth, grabbing a hold of the sleeve of Charlie's sweater and shaking him excitedly with as much strength as her tiny frame could muster, putting leviathan effort into dragging Charlie past the picket fence in front and down the front walk. "Oh, they _never_ get home early, Charlie! I want you to meet them!"

* * *

"...and so, I was walking back home, and it was quite cold out. Of course my reflex at the time was to look for hot cocoa."

"Of course," Willy chuckled, recalling how fond Alyssa had always been of it when they were children, and how delightfully coincidental it turned out to be that hot cocoa was the means Alyssa had found to bring the entire Calloway nightmare to an end. In truth, Willy knew all of the story about how Alyssa had unearthed Cullen Calloway's deeds - she had been required to tell it in extreme detail as part of her testimony. Willy, however, had always thoroughly enjoyed they way Alyssa told stories when they were young, as though everything were fascinating and new and exciting - this was the first time in many years one of her stories had seemed quite the same.

It was nice, they both mused unbeknownst to one another, for things to feel the same.

"I feel terrible," Alyssa said, drawing her knees closer to her chest; she and Willy were sitting in the Chocolate Room, under the artificial sun and not feeling the least bit tired, even though outside, it was probably nearly dusk. They'd been here, talking the entire time, and it seemed they would never run out of things to say. "I ought to be working on something, shouldn't I? Anything?" she asked with a laugh. "The fountain --"

"You've just arrived," Willy said dotingly, plucking a fondant flower from behind them and taking a bite from it. Alyssa laughed, snatching it gently from his hand and popping the remainder into her mouth. "For someone who was in such a rush to leave, you're quick to want to get back to work."

Alyssa looked momentarily bashful at the mention of her rushed departure - it would take some getting used to, no doubt, being back here, but in time she was quite assured that things would be better. She'd finally let go of the things that had been holding her back from being happy here. Now, there was only one desire left unfulfilled, and that was to start this new life, the kind of life that Willy had always lived. Nothing could be better.

"You can't blame me," Alyssa laughed quietly. "There are so many things that I want to --"

However, what she wanted to do, Willy would not know for the moment, for at that exact instant, an orange-faced Oompa-Loompa came running up to him, his expression urgent.

"Jinkitt, what is it?" Willy asked, standing up, then leaning over so that the tiny man could whisper in his ear. Alyssa rose to her feet as well, her hand moving reflexively to her chest as Willy's expression gradually shifted to a very grave, very unnerving one.

"Willy, what is it?" Alysa asked, finally unable to stand it any longer as she leaned over and grasped him by the sleeve, tugging at his arm almost childishly. "What's happening?"

Willy straightened away from Jinkitt, his face blank, and staring off at some imprecise location. For a good few seconds, he remained silent, until he slowly turned his face to Alyssa.

"Calloway works quickly."

"What? What do you mean, he -- Willy, what's --"

But even now, Alyssa was formulating the answer in her head. Who was _not_ in their midst at the moment? Who had been gone nearly all day when they ought to have been home before lunch?

"Cullen Calloway has relayed a message. Charlie and Alyssa are with him."

* * *

_A/N's_

_PLEASE do not kill me for the delay, I can explain! Eek!_

_Well, I'm currently on a new laptop - my previous one housing all of my old chapters just bluescreened on me and I was unable to retrieve any of it, so I'm in the process of redoing all of it. I think all writers can attest to how much hatred that stirs up, ugh. But in any case, I've gotten so many notifications and messages lately, I felt like I really ought to get down to it and get it all written again. _

_I **do** have a second sort of story-arc planned for this story, though I don't plan on making a separate sequel. I'll be continuing in this story, and hopefully updating on a more regular basis. I'm actually really excited about the new storyline I have planned, though I won't ruin it for anyone. The only hint you get is that it involves travelling, and testing Willy and Alyssa's relationship even more._

_Also, part of why I don't have as much time is that I've currently transferred to a university, and am running an online X-Men RPG board, which is in its fourth year now - if you're interested in joining, you should really get in touch with me! _

_So, after that shameless plug, for the first time in a long time, I say..._

_Cheers!_


	24. Chapter 24

"This is all my fault," Alyssa said, wringing her hands and pacing, staring back and forth from Willy to the window of the room they sat in, as though looking out the window would yield some sort of answer. "All my fault - I let them go on their own when they asked, I should have told them no. I was just so caught up in the moment - Charlie has walked that same street to Kellie's home safely tons of times, nothing's ever -"

"Lyssa," Willy said chidingly, his voice surprisingly calm. The absence of sheer panic in his demeanor surprised Alyssa so much that her rambling was abruptly halted. "You simply could not have known that this was going to -"

"I should have been responsible," she continued suddenly. "I should have been the adult in this situation, not gone run off like a child."

At this, it was Willy's turn to be silenced - the idea that thinking and acting the way a child would was nearly an insult to him, but in his mind, he justified that Alyssa had merely expressed her sentiments in these specific words because of a lack of better description in times like these. However, if he had to find an adult way of handling the situation, then so it would be.

"Come with me." He said, standing up and taking his hat from the nearby stand. Alyssa stood silently, looking rather confused. As Willy was putting on his coat, he looked back over his shoulder at Alyssa and gestured for her to follow. "If this regards Cullen Calloway then I know of only one person privy to information that will be any help whatsoever."

Alyssa expected to follow Willy to an investigator, to a police officer, perhaps even a bounty hunter - Willy certainly had enough money to place a large bounty on Cullen Calloway's head if such things were in his nature. Alyssa did not, however, expect to find herself walking into a small candy shop on Cherry Street that was just closing up for the evening.

"Bill." Willy said as they stepped into the doorway. Alyssa glanced around questioningly - she understood that Willy was a recluse, and that if he ever even admitted requiring assistance, the circle of trusted advisors he would turn too was limited. However, coming to a candy shop as the solution to the problem of two missing children seemed a bit ludicrous, even on a Wonka scale.

"Willy," said the shop owner in fond greeting. Willy was quick in explaining the situation, and wasted surprisingly little time in asking for any information that Bill could offer.

"I do know a bit about the Calloways. Come, sit," Bill said, stepping out from behind the candy counter he had erstwhile been tending to with a washcloth. He gestured towards a pair of stools before continuing. Willy took a seat, but Alyssa stood, glued in place, looking just as guilt-ridden as before. Bill reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "And don't look so glum, have faith."

"The Calloways started doing business in a small Chocolaterie in the French Quarter. Very small, rustic, but very successful in its time - Cullen's father Cameron became overambitious in his plans for expansion. Tried to create a nationwide business, but until the day he died, he could never attain the sort of presence he desired. That was their downfall - but I would wager that they still own the residence."

Alyssa stared at Bill in rapt attention, her brow furrowing. Even in the high emotion of the moment, it "So Charlie and Kellie -"

"When do I leave, then?" Willy asked, tapping his cane gently on the ground. Alyssa quickly turned around to face him, looking surprisingly incredulous. Surely she didn't think, Willy mused, that he wouldn't find a simple and clean resolution to this problem?

"You won't, Willy." she said resolutely. "You're a terrible liar, and you'll stick out like a sore thumb, no one in the world doesn't know your face. I'll go.:

"You're leaving again," Willy said, glancing at a spot somewhere over Alyssa's shoulder; the woman let out a short breath, shaking her head.

"It's not that simple - I'm leaving, yes," Alyssa said, crossing her arms and taking two small steps towards Willy. "But the only reason is because I'm going to bring Charlie and Kellie back home - I doubt even her parents will do anything more than call the police."

Briefly, a piercing silence penetrated the room. Alyssa stared at Willy with her arms crossed, Willy stared at Alyssa as though closely examining her face. They were being tested again, less than a day after their most recent rest had ended.

"I'll expect you to phone and confirm you haven't disappeared from the face of the Earth," Willy said in resignation. Alyssa reached out to thank him, even to embrace him, but he simply bowed his head briefly, then strolled off out of the shop. Alyssa looked up and stared pleadingly at Bill - Bill clearly understood William Wonka far better than she did.

"It's difficult for him, Miss Cabot" he explained gently, and she let down a soft groan, finally slouching down into a seat. "So many things have happened lately to complicate his world, all at once. He's been working nearly his entire life to avoid that."

"It's impossible to avoid, though," Alyssa sighed in exasperation as Bill filled her a small glass of cream soda. At first, she took it only to be polite, but she soon found that the sweetness of the drink was in its own way soothing - it was cold and frothy, and the simple need to lick the foam from her upper lip was itself a distraction from the situation at hand. "You can't avoid facing the things in your life that make it more complicated."

"I believe," Bill said, raising his eyebrows a bit and leaning on the counter close to Alyssa, "that you may be the only one who can help him realize that."

At this, Alyssa laughed a bit, but it was evident that her laugh smile was a weary one. "Isn't that a slightly hefty task to set before only one person?"

Bill gave a small chuckle, looking up at the ceiling pensively. "You know, Willy Wonka is perhaps one of the world's foremost geniuses. His knowledge of what it takes to make the perfect chocolate, his knowledge of what simple sorts of things bring people happiness - many would be quick to call it limitless. Even you, I think it would be safe to say," Bill said with a knowing twinkle.

"But," he continued, "you cannot let his genius lull you into forgetting that no man can know everything."

* * *

"A penny for your thoughts, Mister Wonka?"

Willy had been sitting at a table in the welcoming room of his factory, his hair unkempt, his jacket and shoes still on, when Grandpa Joe had appeared in the room. It was only at this point that he looked up at the clock and realized that he had been sitting in the exact same place, in the exact same position, for well over two hours.

"She's a very strange girl," Willy said with a wistful smile, shaking his head slightly. It didn't seem right to burden the man with anything heavier than that while his grandson was missing. "Very strange."

"She's only doing the grown-up thing to do," Grandpa Joe explained, his voice familiarly and affectionately muffled by his mustache.

"Well," Willy chuckled, "then perhaps I wish she would not do so quite as often. It's terribly frustrating."

"Mister Wonka, you'll forgive me for being to personal, but we've known each other a good while now." Grandpa Joe said carefully, sitting down across from the younger man. Willy thought briefly that this faintly resembled the way he envisioned a father sounding as he prepared to chide his son. "Love is a very -- a very grown-up emotion. Things don't stay simple when you care for someone."

"Grandpa Joe," Willy chuckled, shaking his head as though he felt the words he had just heard were something incredibly silly. "I think love ought to be the simplest thing in the world."

* * *

_A/N's_

_First of all - I know it has been a long time and may I just say that I'm so grateful that there are still people subscribing to this story. I've been working on it, but never typing it - mostly bits and pieces of dialogue on napkins. But now, I've actually sat down and typed a few more chapters, though I do want to spend a bit of time looking over them instead of posting them all at once._

_Though I won't share too much, since that's not what you came here to read, I am happy to say that my muse for this story is alive and kicking due to some new relationship insight that has come from being married _ really hope to use it to bring more depth to the story._

_Anyway, the story will be moving to a new location for a good while, a fictional location in the French Quarter where you will be meeting some new people. I know this is straying really far from the simple Willy and Alyssa romance, but I hope you guys will bear with me, as I am really enjoying writing this story arc._

_Remember, reviews are always, always, ALWAYS appreciated! And also, I'm thinking about syncing my FFN updates to my Twitter account, though social networking sites aren't really the forum for good and intelligent writing. We'll see. But in any case, thank you for your continued support!_

_Cheers!_


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